Mohali, April 8 -- A special CBI court in Mohali on Tuesday convicted and sentenced 11 Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials and two rice millers to three years' jail for supplying and accepting substandard rice stock and recording it as 'A-grade'. The case dates back to September 29, 2005, when a CBI team and FCI's technical staff collected 46 samples from a depot in Moga. The agency conducted searches at 11 locations across four states and a Union territory, including offices and residences linked to FCI staff, for an investigation into the procurement of substandard rice and alleged loss to the exchequer. Analysis at the Central Grain Analysis Laboratory showed that none of the samples conformed to the Centre's specifications, and nine were found unfit for human consumption, falling beyond the limits of prevention of food adulteration. The court held that the accused officials knowingly accepted the inferior stock, enabling millers to raise bills as if the rice met full quality parameters, causing loss to the public exchequer. Public prosecutor for CBI Anmol Narang argued that the offences committed by accused persons are socio-economic in nature and they should be awarded the maximum sentence. Those convicted include then technical assistants Raj Kumar, RC Puri, Gulab Singh, Pitambir Singh and GPS Kalra, assistant managers (QC) Gian Singh and DK Sharma, deputy manager (QC) Azad Singh, and district manager Rajesh Ranjan, all posted in Moga or Faridkot during the relevant period. Each has been sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment under Section 120-B of the IPC, three years under Sections 420/34 of the IPC, and three years under Sections 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mill owners Govinder Singh and Pardeep Bansal also received similar jail terms, along with Rs.25,000 fines under Section 420 IPC. The detailed judgement is awaited. Proceedings against an IAS officer, K Siva Prashad, Barjinder Singh and Pawan Kumar had earlier been quashed by the Punjab and Haryana high court, while the trial abated for Pawan Kumar of KCBL & Co and Kailash Rani of M/s Kailash Industries following their deaths....