Hyderabad, April 2 (IANS) Continuing its drive against adulterated and unhygienic food, Hyderabad police seized 12 tonnes of offal of sheep and goats worth Rs 10 lakh during a raid on a stall on Thursday.

The sleuths of the Commissioner’s Task Force, Golconda team, conducted a joint operation with the H-FAST team and Mangalhat Police, raided the store in Mangalhat, and apprehended the manager, Rafi Ahmed.

The Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) was constituted recently under the leadership of Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar.

According to A. Srinivas Rao, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner’s Task Force, shop owner Mohd Afroz is absconding.

The offal seized during the raid included paya, head, brain, kidney, and liver.

He was illegally procuring stale/spoiled offal of sheep and goats at cheap rates from the wholesale market and preserving the same at the store.

The accused also used to store the meat for long periods in deep freezers and plastic tubs filled with stagnant water, selling the same for marriage functions, events, and to hotels. Police said they were endangering human life.

A case has been registered under Sections 125, 271, 318(2), and 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Mangalhat Police Station.

In another case, the Commissioner’s Task Force, Golconda team, in a joint operation with Tappachabutra Police, raided a bakery at Natraj Nagar, Jhirra, and arrested a person named Syed Khadeer for indulging in illegal manufacturing of bakery products in unhygienic conditions without any valid licence.

Police seized various items worth over Rs 2.77 lakh, including maida, dalda, sugar, coconut powder, and cake powder.

A case has been registered under Sections 274, 275, and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Tappachabutra Police Station.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Sajjanar on Thursday held a meeting with food business operators and warned them not to play with people’s lives for personal gain.

The Commissioner warned that strict legal action would be taken against those who engage in food adulteration for personal profit, thereby jeopardising public health. He stated that adulteration is an assault on society itself.

Approximately 200 business representatives from various sectors, including meat, dairy, bakery products, ginger-garlic paste, tea powder, and others, attended the meeting organised under the aegis of H-FAST.

The Commissioner revealed that during the last month, 92 cases were registered across the city, resulting in the seizure of approximately 62 tonnes of adulterated food products and the arrest of 98 individuals involved in these illicit activities.

He advised business owners to act as responsible citizens and make no compromises regarding the quality of food products.

He emphasised that every business owner bears the responsibility of safeguarding the global reputation that Hyderabad currently enjoys.

He stressed that every food business operator must mandatorily possess an FSSAI licence and urged them to immediately alert the police if they receive any information regarding adulteration taking place anywhere.

--IANS

ms/dan