The police have seized 1,495 bags of subsidised urea from a godown in Rajpura, which was likely to be sold on higher rates and diverted for other purposes.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 338, 336(3), 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 3, 7, 8, 19 and 35(1)(a) of the Fertiliser (Control) Order, and Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act at the Kheri Gandian police station in Rajpura sub-division against two local traders.
The police said they had registered the FIR on a complaint filed by the Fertiliser Inspector Gurdhian Singh who raided a godown near DAV School on the Sadhkheri road. During the inspection, he found 1,495 bags of urea that allegedly had no mandatory details such as the manufacturer’s name, batch number, distributor’s information and maximum retail price.
The traders, against whom the FIR has been registered, have been identified as Sajal Gudwani of M/s Ram Protein Products, Rajpura; and Mohit Kumar of M/s Mangla Chemicals, New Delhi.
The police officials said the documents produced during the inspection indicated that the stock had been procured from a Delhi-based firm. However, a laboratory analysis of samples reportedly revealed that the material was Neem-Coated Agricultural Grade Urea, a fertiliser supplied to farmers at subsidised rates by the Central Government.
The Inspector, in his complaint, claimed that the fertiliser was stored in an unauthorised godown without the required licence and was being diverted for sale at higher prices. The alleged diversion not only violates fertiliser control regulations but also results in misuse of public subsidy funds meant for farmers, he maintained.
