Paddy Goes Missing, Then Reappears at Rice Mill, Bihar’s Cooperative Department Under Scrutiny

Samastipur: In a case that exposes the murky inner workings of Bihar’s paddy procurement system, a curious sequence of events has emerged from the Vasudevpur Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS), where paddy that had earlier gone missing during a government inspection has now, unexpectedly, reappeared at a rice mill.

The anomaly surfaced after the District Magistrate ordered strict verification of PACS units that had failed to deliver rice to the State Food Corporation (SFC). When officials began physical inspections, the Vasudevpur PACS was found short of paddy stock, leading to suspicions of embezzlement. A report by the Block Cooperative Officer (BCO) initially accused the PACS chairman of siphoning off procured paddy, prompting the District Cooperative Officer (DCO) to order an FIR within 24 hours.

However, no FIR was filed. Instead, the PACS chairman later produced receipts indicating that the missing paddy had in fact been delivered to Laxmi Rice Mill. The BCO then clarified that the FIR order was merely “pressure tactics” to ensure timely rice delivery.

According to the inspection report, Vasudevpur PACS procured over 126 metric tonnes of paddy, of which it was expected to deliver 87 MT of custom-milled rice (CMR). So far, only 29 MT has been supplied, with the remainder long overdue—pending for 135 days. While the PACS maintains it procured the paddy properly, millers allegedly refused to lift the stock unless allowed to buy it at deflated rates, sparking concern over price manipulation and delayed processing.

Insiders claim some millers are demanding paddy at just ₹20 per kilo while promising to deliver rice at government-fixed prices—a gap that suggests manipulation and possible profiteering. One PACS chairman, speaking anonymously, described the situation as a “big game” in which both millers and officials appear complicit in delaying or distorting the grain exchange process.