Charge-sheet to be filed in Srinagar food adulteration case

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation will Monday file a charge- sheet against three food processing companies for adulteration in a court here, an official said.

SMC Health Officer Shafaqat Khan told IANS that after the state government gave sanction to prosecute the companies whose products were allegedly found adulterated with carcinogenic chemicals which can cause cancer, the authorities are moving forward with the charge-sheet.

"We have prepared the challan (charge-sheet) against Avon Agro Industries Pvt Ltd, Delhi, Khyber Agro Farms, Srinagar and M/S Kanwal Agro Food Industries, Anantnag.

"The government has already accorded sanction for their prosecution and the challan would be presented in the court of the municipal magistrate Srinagar Monday," Khan said.

Panic and consternation had gripped consumers in the Valley when the SMC authorities claimed last year that the milk packets by Khyber Agro Farms, turmeric powder by Avon Agro Industries and fennel powder by M/S Kanwal Agro Food Industries had been found adulterated with carcinogenic chemicals.

The authorities said these products were found adulterated during tests carried out at the Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata.

Meanwhile, the companies had also produced counter tests of their products which certified their purity, triggering a controversy.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has already directed these companies to deposit Rs.60 crores with the director of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura, Srinagar, so that the money could be used for public healthcare problems which might occur because of the use of adulterated food products sold by these companies.