Illegal fertiliser packaging unit busted in Faridkot, owner booked

The unit was found functioning without any valid licence or permission and a large quantity of expired and suspected spurious agri-inputs was recovered from the site, officials said

Chandigarh: The Punjab agriculture and farmers welfare department on Thursday busted an illegal fertiliser and pesticide packaging unit operating from a residential property in Narain Nagar, Faridkot.

The Punjab agriculture and farmers welfare department on Thursday busted an illegal fertiliser and pesticide packaging unit operating from a residential property in Narain Nagar, Faridkot.

The unit was found functioning without any valid licence or permission and a large quantity of expired and suspected spurious agri-inputs was recovered from the site, officials said.

Acting on credible inputs, a team of the agriculture department, in the presence of police, raided a house in Narain Nagar and found that Rajinder Sethi, the owner of the premises, was allegedly running the illegal operation despite his fertiliser retail licence for Faridkot district having expired.

According to officials, the accused was reportedly sourcing agricultural inputs from M/s Amravati Agro Corp, Nalagarh, in Himachal Pradesh, which has also come under departmental scrutiny.

During the raid, the team collected 18 fertiliser samples for laboratory testing. They also recovered two batches of expired fertilisers and eight expired pesticide products. Officials stated that formal samples of the expired stock were not drawn as the products were visibly degraded and unfit for use, violating shelf-life norms.

Investigators further discovered unmarked and open bags suspected to contain spurious fertiliser, along with equipment used for illegal repackaging, including sewing and sealing machines.

Following the complaint from the agriculture department, Faridkot police registered an FIR against Rajinder Sethi under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Fertiliser Control Order (1985), the Essential Commodities Act (1955), the Insecticides Act (1968), and related rules.

Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said the action was part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal trade in agri-inputs, which pose serious risks to farmers and agricultural productivity.