Vigilance raids Verka milk plants in Ludhiana, Mohali

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 20

Following allegations of adulteration in Verka dairy products levelled by the Bains brothers of the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) last week, the Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday carried out a detailed inspection of Verka plants in Mohali and Ludhiana.

Besides running a quality check, the bureau, along with the Cooperation Department, is auditing the financial records of the plants.

A team headed by Vigilance Director G Nageswara Rao, during a raid at the Mohali plant, oversaw the quality of milk contents with the aid of experts from the Health Department as well as the Dairy Development Board, sources said. A separate raid was conducted at the Ludhiana plant.

The joint teams are also carrying out raids at godowns of milk plants in the periphery of both these towns.

Talking to The Tribune, a senior Vigilance official said: “It is still too early to comment on our findings. We are carrying out a detailed exercise of checking the financial records. We are also compiling a separate report on the quality of milk and other products, including ghee, cheese and butter, with the help of experts.”

The bureau is also looking into the allegation of connivance of department officials in the alleged irregularities.

Claiming it to be a scam worth at least Rs 200 crore, MLA Simarjit Singh Bains had, last week, alleged that Milkfed-run Verka plants were selling milk with lower fat content and charging Rs 5-6 extra per packet. He had “raided” the Ludhiana plant along with a private laboratory technician to conduct on-the-spot quality test.