Wheat sacks worth millions stolen from govt's go-down in Shikarpur

KARACHI: A team of anti-corruption unit seized records of a government go-down in Sindh’s Shikarpur after finding theft of thousands of wheat sacks worth over Rs250 million, ARY News reported on Friday.

The anti-corruption authorities have exposed a wheat theft scandal as thousands of sacks were vanished from a go-down of Sindh’s Food Department in Shikarpur over alleged misappropriation by some influential persons.

Sources revealed that the theft has been traced during a raid where the officials matched the records provided in the government’s statistics and the entries of go-down records. The staff members of the provincial food department allegedly stole wheat world over Rs250 million.

Read: Wheat flour sacks seized under suspicion of them being a health hazard

The raid was conducted by an anti-corruption team under the supervision of a magistrate and also seized records of the government go-down. Sources added that the suspected officer of the provincial food department is absconding.

Earlier in January, unidentified men had looted a government godown filled with wheat bags in tehsil Nasirabad of Qambar Shahdadkot district as flour-crisis intensify in the Sindh province.

Read: Over 100,000 sugar sacks recovered during anti-hoarding op in Kotri

According to the in charge of the food centre, several sacks of wheat were stolen from unidentified intruders. The thieves had entered the godown after breaking down the looked gates and escaped easily taking away with them wheat sacks.

“The godown was sealed by the [National Accountability Bureau] NAB Sukkur authorities over irregularities found in the distribution of the wheat from it,” he said.