Hyderabad: The North Zone Task Force police and the agriculture department nabbed two persons and seized more than two tonnes of unauthorised herbicide-tolerant cotton seeds. The seeds were packed in 50 bags and worth Rs 38 lakh.
They have been identified as Ravula Rajanikanth, 48, managing director of Omkar SeedTech Pvt Ltd and Banadari Mahesh, 23, auto trolley driver.
According to an agricultural officer, farmers were lured to purchase the seeds which it was claimed were resistant to a variety of plant diseases. However, these seeds were not approved by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee as required. Police said Rajinikanth approached seed producer Bharath Patel, who runs Avirat Agri Seeds Pvt. Ltd in Gujarat and purchased huge quantity of these seeds at Rs 500 a kg. He brought it by train to Secunderabad and took it to his unit in Bhongir. Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar said Rajinikanth packed the seeds in 450-grams packets and sold them at Rs 730 each.
