Mohali, July 19 -- A special CBI court on Saturday convicted 17 accused, including nine Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials and eight rice millers, in two separate corruption cases related to the acceptance of substandard rice during the 2004-05 kharif procurement season.

Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh Sra sentenced the convicts to rigorous imprisonment ranging from six months to three years and imposed fines of Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 on each of them. The case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The detailed judgments in both cases are awaited.

The two cases pertained to procurement centres at Nihal Singh Wala and Muktsar under the FCI district office, Faridkot, where officials were accused of accept...