Govt tightens grip on pesticide business near inter-state border

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, October 4

The state government has tightened its grip on multi-crore pesticide, seed and fertiliser business and intensified police raids near the inter-state border following the mounting criticism by the Congress, the AAP and farmers’ organisations.

More than 36 government shops are functioning near the Punjab-Rajasthan border. The move came after a “Rs33-crore scam” surfaced in which “substandard” pesticide were purchased and sold at half the price to cotton growers dealing with whitefly attacks.

The Punjab Police have also been regularly raiding shops to curb illegal purchase of substandard pesticide. The Abohar police today booked some dealers, including a pesticide and seed distributor who runs a chain of outlets in Punjab and Rajasthan. Sunil Periwal and his brothers have been booked under Section 19 of the Seeds Act and Section 29 of the Insecticides Act.

One of them, Jagat Periwal, was earlier booked under the Fertiliser Act on August 8 by the Lakho Ke Behram police near Ferozepur after the Agriculture Department complained that a sample of zinc fertiliser manufactured by his company failed a lab test.

In the fresh case, the police said there were reports that the company had been selling “substandard” pesticide to mint profits which in turn had damaged crops.

The police have arrested Hans Raj of Sadhuwali village saying that he along with Devi Lal of Mokhampura and Daulat Ram of Kerakhera village have been selling substandard agricultural inputs, including seeds and pesticide, from their shop at Maujgarh village on the national highway. Hans Raj has been remanded in police custody for two days while others were at large.

One more case has been registered against a father-son duo who was reportedly linked to a rural pesticide shop in Rajpura village on Abohar-Hanumangarh highway. The shop was reportedly a branch of Zamindara Pesticides Company. Two employees of the company identified as Sunil Bunty and Gopal Krishan Kamboj were arrested during the raid at the main office in Abohar. A court here has remanded them in judicial custody and rejected their bail plea.

The arrest of proprietor Om Parkash Dhamija had been stayed till October 6 by another court.