Mumbai, November 21, 2025 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ushik Gala, managing director of Suumaya Industries Ltd, in connection with an alleged ₹137.05 crore fraud tied to a fake dry-ration scheme purportedly linked to the mid-day meal programme.
Scheme & Fraud According to the ED, Gala and his associates devised a fictitious initiative called “Need to Feed”, claiming it would supply dry ration for the school mid-day meal programme. The target firm transferred approximately ₹325.98 crore between March and August 2021 under this purported scheme, but Suumaya failed to return the funds and cheated the firm of ₹117.73 crore plus interest worth ₹19.31 crore, totalling ₹137.05 crore.
Modus Operandi Investigations reveal that the accused used fake documents, staged events and bogus letters (one purportedly from a district education officer in Gurugram) to lend credibility. Funds were routed circularly through shell entities and bogus invoices were generated.
Current Status & Implications Gala was remanded in ED custody until November 24. The ED also seized movable assets worth around ₹3.9 crore during raids in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram in December 2024. The case highlights vulnerabilities in welfare-linked supply contracts and calls for tighter oversight to prevent misuse of public-interest programmes.
