No evidence so far about KMF or MyMUL officials being hand in glove

Mysore/Mysuru: Two weeks after the public busted a massive Nandini ghee adulteration racket at Hosahundi village at the foot of Chamundi Hill with wide inter-State ramifications, the District Police have arrested four people. More arrests will happen as the Police are digging deep into the racket, its operation, beneficiaries and the end-customers.

The racket has brought enough bad publicity to Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and its local unit Mysuru District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Societies’ Union Limited (MyMUL) that are known for supplying quality products for decades. It has sent shockwaves among consumers and farmers and the Police are under pressure to make the arrests.

The racket was busted on Dec. 16 and there were over 20 people working in the illegal godown at the time of the raid.

Addressing a press conference at his office yesterday, Superintendent of Police (SP) R. Chethan said that the case was being investigated by Dy.SP Sumeet. “Two of the four accused have been named in the FIR and as per the investigation so far, there is no evidence available about the involvement of KMF or MyMUL officials. We are investigating from all angles and 10 tonnes of adulterated Nandini ghee was found during the raid,” he said.

“All four are residents of Mysuru and based on information shared by the arrested, we will continue the probe,” he said, hinting at more arrests in the coming days. We have taken the case seriously as it involves public health and we will complete the probe at the earliest and submit a charge-sheet to the Court,” he said.

“A comprehensive investigation into this is underway and teams are gathering information from the building owner who rented the premises to install the illegal ghee unit. The owner too would be arrested if found guilty,” the SP added.

The racket had begun in Hosahundi about two months ago and along with 10 tonnes of ghee materials including adulterants, vegetable cooking oil, flavouring and colouring agents have been seized. “I cannot reveal the names of the arrested at this stage in the interests of investigation,” he said.

CBI probe sought

Meanwhile, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha District President Hosuru Kumar demanded a CBI inquiry into the Nandini ghee adulteration case. Addressing a press conference in the city yesterday, he said that farmers under the leadership of Badagalapura Nagendra will stage a protest from 11 am to 2 pm on Dec. 30 in front of the DC’s Office demanding a CBI probe.

He noted that recently, a major milk adulteration racket was unearthed in Mandya and there has been a systematic cover-up to shield the accused. Conspiracies are underway to harm farmers’ interests, he claimed.