BHOPAL: Following allegations of large scale corruption in the sale of onion to the traders after purchasing the vegetable from the farmers , general manager (GM) of MP civil supplies corporation was arrested by the State bureau of investigations of economic offences popularly known as the economic offences wing (EOW) on Thursday.After he was caught on camera of a TV channel demanding bribe for making onion available at a lower price in mandis to the traders, the managing director of the corporation recommended the investigations. "Investigations revealed that the GM Srikant Soni demanded bribe for selling the onion at a very low price " a spokesman of the EOW said.As the propcurement of onion was being done for the past some time, a large scale corruption is suspected, he saidSoni was booked under sections of 409 ( criminal breach of trust by public servant) , 420 ( cheating) , 120 B ( criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sections 7 ,13(1) and 13(2) of Prevention of corruption act 1988 and was arrested , he said.Chairman of the corporation Hitesh Bajpayee said, "Soni was already suspended. The investigating agency sealed his office and seized documents ."After his arrest a team of EOW cops was interrogating Soni. Highly placed sources said that the role of the former managing director can also come under scanner. He was removed from the corporation after recent transfers of IAS officers.Like the multi-layered onion, multi-layer government agencies of Madhya Pradesh government were involved in the sale and purchase of onion, a huge quantity of it has already been rotten due mishandling of the whole exercise, sources in the Mantralaya pointed outAfter agrarian crisis, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered to procure onion from the farmers at a price of Rs 8 a kg. Special trains loaded with onion were ferrying the vegetable from one corner of the state to another. As the whole operation was carried out in haste, tonnes of onion were decayed after it was exposed to rainfall, sources involved in the exercise claimed.The government has purchased more than 8 lakh metric tonnes of onion from farmers spending more than Rs 600 crore.The Congress alleged in the assembly on Thursday the involvement of the minister for food and civil supplies, Om Prakash Dhurve.Leader of the opposition said involvement of Soni indicates " how deep rooted was the corruption."Govind Singh, party MLA from Bhind demanded action against the minister for his alleged involvement in the case.

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