The CBI on Wednesday launched a crackdown on alleged corruption in the Food Corporation of India, conducting searches at 50 locations in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi after arresting a DGM-ranked officer, officials said.

The role of officials from technical assistants to executive directors in the FCI are under the agency's scanner, they said.

The searches were started after the arrest of a deputy general manager (DGM) in the FCI while taking a bribe of Rs 50,000, they said.

They said the operation is spread across multiple cities in Punjab, Haryana and two locations in Delhi.

The sources said the agency has started the operation against an "unholy nexus of corruption" in the FCI involving a chain of officers, rice mill owners, grain merchants etc., engaged in the procurement, storage and distribution of food grains, they said.

The CBI was developing intelligence for the last six months following many complaints received by it, they said.

The role of state government employees will also be under the scanner, they said.

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