A Himachal Pradesh-based firm, M/s Amravati Agro Corporation, located in Nalagarh, Solan, and a local dealer has been booked in a fake fertilisers and pesticides scam here today.
The Punjab Agriculture Department, in a joint operation with local police, has unearthed a massive illegal operation involving the storage and sale of counterfeit fertilisers and pesticides. An FIR has been registered at the City Faridkot Police Station following a raid on a residential property in Narayan Nagar.
After getting a tip-off from the Joint Director of Agriculture (PP) Punjab, a specialised team led by Dr Jatinder Pal Singh, Agriculture Development Officer-cum-Fertiliser Inspector, conducted a search at house in Narayan Nagar, Faridkot.
Upon entering the locked premises with police assistance, officials discovered a “huge stockpile" of unauthorised and expired chemical products. The seized items include large quantities of NPK (various grades), Zinc 33%, Boron and Ferrous Sulphate and bio-products like Mycorrhizal Bio Fertiliser and various liquid plant stimulants, reads the FIR.
Significant stocks of Pretilachlor, Bispyriback Sodium and Thiamethoxam, some of which were reportedly expired, were also found during the raid.
The primary accused has been identified as Rajinder Sethi, the owner of the residential property.
The FIR reads that Sethi, in conspiracy with others, was sourcing these products from a Himachal Pradesh-based firm, M/s Amravati Agro Corporation (located in Nalagarh, Solan), and selling them to unsuspecting farmers in Punjab without any valid license or authorisation.
According to the complainant, Dr Jatinder Pal Singh, storing such chemicals in a residential area is strictly prohibited, and the accused was operating entirely without the mandatory “Letter of Authorisation" required under the Fertiliser Control Order.
The police have booked Rajinder Sethi and the management of M/s Amravati Agro Corporation under a wide range of sections to address fraud and the violation of agricultural regulations including Essential Commodities Act, 1955: Sections 3(2)(d) and 7. Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985: Clauses 7 and 8, Insecticides Act, 1968 & Rules 1971 and multiple sections including 13, 17, 18 and 29. Also, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023: Sections 318(4) (Cheating) and 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy).
Samples of the seized fertilisers have been sent to a laboratory for chemical testing to confirm the extent of the duplication and sub-standard quality.