The illegal supply of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) cotton seed in the State surfaced again after the police busted a gang that ‘smuggled’ this brand of seed from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
On a tip-off, the sleuths of Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force North Zone team intercepted a commercial vehicle near outward parcel office of Secunderabad Railway Station and found a huge quantity of unauthorised HT cotton seed, said Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar.
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He said that the seed were smuggled to the city in railway cargo service without any authenticated invoice or delivery challan. “The gang was trying to sell the harmful seed in the guise of genuine seed to farmers clandestinely in and around Telangana to make fast money,” the commissioner said. The accused were identified as Ravula Rajinikanth, 48, managing director of Omkar Seed Tech Pvt Ltd., and a resident of Ballampally village in Bhongir, and vehicle driver Banadari Mahesh, 23, from Jaipuri Colony.
The police seized 2,005 kg. of unauthorised cotton seed in 50 gunny bags worth ₹32.52 lakh, which was supplied by Bharath Patel of Avirat Agri Seeds Pvt. Ltd. in Gandhi Nagar. “Rajinikanth purchased the seed for ₹500 per kg and was planning to sell the same for ₹730 for a pack of 450 grams and further increase the price depending on the demand from farmers,” the commissioner said.
