Madhya Pradesh Seed Distribution Scam: FIR After 667 Fake Farmers Shown Getting 394 Quintals Of Seeds In Government Reports

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered an FIR in a large-scale corruption case in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district on Tuesday.

Where, government seeds meant for real farmers were falsely shown as distributed to fake beneficiaries.

According to information, the scam took place during 2021–22 in the Mehandwani block and involves the use of fake names—some of people who don’t even exist or were not yet born—to siphon off chickpea (chana) and lentil (masoor) seeds.

According to the EOW investigation, 295 fake farmers were listed in official records to show false distribution of seeds. In reality, these farmers never existed in the village or were completely imaginary.

Still, the records claimed they received government support.

At the time of the scam, Ashwini Jharia was posted as Deputy Director of Agriculture in Dindori.

Hemant Maravi served as the Senior Agriculture Development Officer in Mehandwani, and Inderlal Gauria (now retired) was the branch in-charge.

All three have been named in the FIR for corruption, forgery, and misuse of position.

The scam came to light after the EOW office in Bhopal received a complaint about irregularities in seed distribution under the Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Department. The investigation, led by DSP Swarnjit Singh Dhami from Jabalpur EOW, revealed widespread fraud.

The findings showed that while 728 real farmers were given 546 quintals of chickpea seeds, another 372 fake names were used to falsely show the distribution of an additional 276.75 quintals. Similarly, 305 real farmers received 121.5 quintals of lentil seeds, while records showed 295 fake farmers receiving 118 quintals—on paper only.

When investigators checked the stock registers, it became clear that 276.75 quintals of chickpea and 118 quintals of lentil seeds were never received by the Mehandwani agriculture office. Still, records showed they were distributed.

The EOW found that this entire fake distribution plan was made under the direction of Ashwini Jharia and Inderlal Gauria, and implemented by Hemant Maravi.

DSP Manjeet Singh from the EOW confirmed that all three officers used their official positions to commit fraud and divert government resources.

The investigation is still ongoing, and officials believe that more financial irregularities worth crores may be revealed in the coming days.

This case highlights serious flaws in the system, where corruption prevents the benefits of government schemes from reaching real farmers, and instead helps dishonest officials and middlemen.