Cong MLA bats for harsher penalty for food adulteration

Patiala, August 28

Two days after the police added the attempt to murder charge against the owners of Singla Milk Chilling Centre after test reports confirmed that its milk products were unsafe for consumption, Rajpura MLA and Congress Chief Whip Hardyal Singh Kamboj sought steep increase in fine against such violators.

Police probe suggested that cheese made by the unit had been supplied to hotels and restaurants in Shimla and other parts of Himachal. The accused in the case are owners Anil Singla, Satish Singla and Honey Singla, who are yet to be arrested. Their employees Kulwant Singh and Hardial Singh are already in custody.

“The penalty was decided as per the provisions of Section 49 of the Act which requires to take into consideration the amount of undue gain, repetitive nature of the act and other relevant factors,” said ADC Showkat Ahmad Parray.

“As per Section 51, the maximum penalty that can be imposed in such a case is Rs 5 lakh while there is no minimum penalty. The high penalty — Rs 4.5 lakh — was imposed because of the quantity involved and not because of major variation from the standards. This penalty was the highest-ever imposed on a food business operator for substandard products in Punjab,” he added. — TNS