Acting on a complaint from the Agriculture Department, police have booked a Delhi-based trading company, its owner, and a MARKFED official for allegedly supplying substandard urea worth lakhs of rupees. The case was registered under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, following an inspection that uncovered industrial-grade urea stored at a MARKFED facility.
Inspection Reveals Substandard Urea
According to Agriculture Officer Vishal Kaushal, a special team formed to curb black marketing and diversion of urea inspected MARKFED's cattle feed plant in Phagwara. During the inspection, 300 bags of technical-grade urea were found. The urea was allegedly below prescribed quality standards and had reportedly been supplied as industrial-grade material.
The complaint states that the consignment was supplied by Delhi-based Manisha Trading Company and its owner, Ashwani Bhardwaj. The inquiry also indicated the alleged involvement of a MARKFED official.
Allegations of Diversion and Overpricing
The Agriculture Department alleged that subsidised agricultural urea, meant exclusively for farming use, was falsely billed as industrial-grade urea at a higher price. The stock, valued at several lakhs of rupees, was placed on hold pending further investigation. SHO Amandeep Nahar confirmed that the investigation was underway.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against the trading company, its owner, and the MARKFED official. Further investigation is in progress.
