Archit Watts
Tribune News Service
Muktsar, May 10
The police — in the past week — have failed to take any concrete action, except lodging an FIR, in a “spurious” BT cotton seed case.
State Agriculture Department officials had last week unearthed a spurious BT cotton seed scam with the seizure of 930 packets of such seeds from a Gidderbaha-based seed dealer. A recommendation letter having the “forged” signatures of the department’s Director was also seized.
On May 2, the Agriculture Department’s team had handed over the seized material to the Gidderbaha police and lodged a complaint but neither has the accused seed dealer been arrested nor its kingpin identified till date.
A similar raid was conducted in Bathinda district on the same day and some packets of the seed having the same mark were seized from there also.
Rajpal Singh, DSP, Gidderbaha, said, “A case under various Sections of the IPC, Essential Commodities Act and the Seeds Act was registered against the Gidderbaha seed dealer on the statement of Agriculture Department’s officials. A raid was conducted on Wednesday too, but he is on the run.”
According to sources, the booked owner of Chandan Hybrid Seeds Company is an influential man. As a result, the police are going slow in the case, they alleged.
They said that earlier, the SHO of Gidderbaha police station had gone on leave and on Thursday, he was transferred. “The SHO’s transfer may also delay the investigation. The officiating charge will now be given to an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI),” they added.
Notably, a fake BT cotton seed scam was unearthed last year as well.
The farmers now say that police “inaction” in such cases and frequent seizure of spurious seed were the main reasons behind a majority of farmers switching to paddy in this cotton belt.
Baljinder Singh Brar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said, “We had reported the matter to the police on the same day. But they have not informed us about any arrest so far.”
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2G5RmZK
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