28 bags of PBW 826 wheat variety seized from Ludhiana store, owner booked

Ludhiana chief agricultural officer Amanjit Singh said 28 gunny bags of PBW 826 seed weighing 140kg, which were hidden under a pile of sacks and covered with tarpaulin, were seized

Following the reports that newly introduced heat-tolerant PBW 826 wheat variety was being sold at premium price despite the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) having officially exhausted the initial stock, the Ludhiana agriculture department swung into action and carried out a surprise raid at a seed store and godown here on Monday night.

Ludhiana chief agricultural officer Amanjit Singh has sought further probe to ascertain how the accused managed to source such a huge quantity of PBW 826 wheat seeds, which were scarcely available. (HT Photo)

Ludhiana chief agricultural officer Amanjit Singh said 28 gunny bags of PBW 826 seed weighing 140kg, which were hidden under a pile of sacks and covered with tarpaulin, were seized. The accused has been identified as Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Shant Park on Barrewal Road.

Hindustan Times had on October 13 highlighted the illegal sale of PBW 826 seeds at stores located outside PAU Gate No 2, whereas the stock of wheat variety seed was exhausted at the store inside the university campus.

Private seed store owners were selling the unverified PBW 826 seeds at prices ranging between ₹150 and 200 per kilogram.

Notably, the varsity had sold the seed at ₹100/kg at its recent kisan mela with a cap of 2kg seeds per farmer after checking Aadhaar cards.

The chief agricultural officer has sought further probe to ascertain how the accused managed to source such a huge quantity of seeds, which were scarcely available. He said the quality and germination test of the seized wheat varieties will be conducted.

During the initial probe, it was found that the private store owner was selling the seeds to farmers who were either his acquaintances or being sent by a mediator.

Ludhiana’s Division Number 5 police have registered a case under sections 3,8, and 10 of the Seed Rules Act (1968) and sections 7 and 3 of the Essential Commodities Act.

Amanjit said a team led by Ludhiana ADO (seed inspector) Pritpal Singh, Jamalpur ADO Harpreet Singh, Sahnewal ADO Jatinder Singh, and Rajinderpal Singh Aulakh, conducted a surprise checking at Super Golden Karnal Seed Farm and Garg Seed Corporation opposite of PAU Gate No 2 and found unauthorised stock of various seed varieties.

The team seized the seed produced and marketed by Krishna Karnal Seed Farm, Kachwa Road, Haryana.

The department has also recovered wheat seeds WH-1270 (12 bag), DBW-303 (74 bags), DBW-332 (8 bags each weighing 5kg) and mustard seed variety super gold-25 (175 packets).

The agricultural officer said the proprietor of the seed store could not furnish any supporting document. During the perusal of record, it was found that Rajinder did not have licence to either sell or store the seeds of the Haryana-based firm and was keeping the stock in unauthorised manner.

Investigating officer Sulakhan Singh said a case was registered after receiving the complaint and the process of sealing the stock was on.