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Inter-state drug racket unearthed, 8 arrested
Two farmers win case against seed firms
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Inter-state drug racket unearthed, 8 arrested
Pathankot, November 18 On Saturday, the police had nabbed five people, including a woman, who were trying to drive into the adjoining state of Jammu and Kashmir with 860 grams of heroin stashed in a cavity created in a car. Senior Superintendent of Police SK Kalia, while addressing a press conference, said members of both the gangs were involved in an inter-state smuggling racket. Acting on a tip-off, nakas were laid for two successive days following which the contraband was seized. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against all the eight accused at the Sadar police station. The SSP claimed that this year 142 cases had been registered against smugglers under the NDPS Act and 162 offenders had been nabbed. This was much more than the contraband seized during the corresponding period last year. Sources disclosed that the two seizures were the biggest made by the police ever since Pathankot was carved out as a new district last year. SK Kalia added the police was also tightening its noose against chemists who were selling psychotropic drugs, including capsules and various types of narcotic powder. Pathankot-based NGOs and police officials claimed that if the state government tightens the noose against these erring chemists, drug use among youths could come down significantly. However, they also say that revamping of the Punjab Excise Act has also become mandatory. “The present set of excise laws lacks teeth and people tried under the present archaic laws are back in business after a couple of weeks’ time,” said an official. A senior officer claimed that there should be a drastic change in the Punjab Excise Act 61/1/14A which, in the present form, lacks teeth. “The law has to be more stringent if we have to check bootlegging. I know of many bootleggers who have been booked under the Act several times. However, they are back into business because they know how to make a mockery of the Act,” admitted a police officer. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha had recently shot off a letter to the Principal Secretary (Home) in which he has urged the authorities to suitably amend the Punjab Excise Act in the Vidhan Sabha. Bare facts
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Two farmers win case against seed firms
Nawanshahr, November 18 Both the farmers had purchased peas seeds in October 2009. The farmers in their complaints with the District Consumer Redressal Forum had accused that at the time of selling seeds they were assured that the seeds were of good quality and would bear fruit within 50 days. But due to low quality of seeds, they suffered loss as they had incurred expenditure on seeds, labour, irrigation, fertlisers and insecticides etc, they had added. Karnail Singh before filing a suit in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Hoshiarpur, had even submitted a complaint with the Chief Agriculture Officer at Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar against the companies for supplying low quality of seeds. On the basis of the complaint, the Chief Agriculture Officer asked the Agriculture Officer, Saroya, to conduct a spot inquiry and file a report. The Agriculture Officer, Saroya, visited the peas fields and in his report to the CAO, he had clearly mentioned that there was 8 per cent mixing of other seeds. But the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum dismissed his complaint on the plea that the appellant had not given any notice about the visit of the agriculture officer. Similarly, the complaint of another farmer Jasbir Singh was dismissed on the plea that he had not sent the samples of the seeds for analysis. Inderjit Kaushik, presiding member, and Baldev Singh Sekhon, member of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, after hearing the arguments of the counsels of both the parties and perusal of the evidence put before the forum reached at the conclusion that the observation and finding of the district forum was against the prevailing law. Citing the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case --- National Seeds Corporation Ltd v/s M Madhusudan Reddy & others of 2012, the state forum said as per the law there was no requirement of any notice to the respondent at the time of visit of the agriculture officer. |
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