Five arrested for trying to manipulate food quality report

The Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested five persons, including officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the State Food Laboratory, for allegedly conniving to change a food analysis report.
Food control officials of GHMC -- whose job is to conduct surprise checks and check quality of food at restaurants -- alongwith lab officials took a bribe to manipulate a report, the ACB said.
Telangana ACB sleuths yesterday conducted a raid at the State Food Laboratory here after getting a tip-off that some officials took money and manipulated food reports.
GHMC assistant food controller K Balaji Raju, SFL's analyst N Ravindra, owner of Haveli Bar and Restaurant K V Narsinga Rao, Bar's accountant K Srinivas, and GHMC's record assistant A Jagan were arrested.

GHMC officials had collected samples of chicken biryani from Haveli Bar and Restaurant at Begumpet here in March and sent them to SFL for testing. SFL's report said the samples were unsafe to eat.
Narsinga Rao allegedly paid Rs 1.25 lakh to Raju, Ravindra and Jagan to send the samples to Central Food Laboratory, Pune, and get a new, favourable report, ACB said.
ACB also seized the bribe amount. Further probe is underway.