The Rachakonda police on Tuesday apprehended four persons on the charge of selling spurious seed to farmers, and seized from their possession 2.8 tonnes of seed, processing and packaging equipment, all worth an estimated ₹50 lakh.
The accused who were arrested were Chinthala Venkateshwarlu, Putta Venkata Ramana, Nomula Venkanna, and Vagalagaani Ashok. Pathlavath Krishna Naik, another accused, was absconding.
According to police, Venkateshwarlu, hailing from Kothpet in Kurnool district, had moved to Hyderabad a decade ago and worked as cable operator. He was said to be a friend of the other accused Krishna Naik and Ramana, both of whom were in the seed business.
The trio allegedly hatched a plan, with Venkateshwarlu managing the operations, to sell spurious seed to farmers and make a quick buck. They then allegedly began to mix spurious seed with seed chemical and began to pack them in covers of existing brands and sold them to unsuspecting farmers at lower prices.
Venkateshwarlu leased a godown in Brahmanapally with the help of Venkanna and Ashok, a marketing professional.
Police said that the accused did not have a licence under Seed Act 1966 to manufacture or sell cotton seed.
Acting on information, the L B Nagar Special Operations Team, Hayathnagar police and officials of the agriculture department raided the godown and apprehended the accused. A cheating case was booked against them. Sections of the Seed Act 1966 too were invoked.
