JOIN USA grocery shop and a sweet shop in Rajasthan have been meted out unique punishment by a court for adulteration. The owners will have to put up signboards saying they are adulterators.
The shops are situated in Bhilwara town, around 250 km from here.
The court of an additional district magistrate on Tuesday gave its orders in two cases of adulteration.
Besides imposing a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh on the two shops, the owners have been asked to put up boards at places which should be easily visible to customers.
The boards will carry the words, “I am an adulterator”, said Bhilwara’s food security officer Devendra Singh Ranawat.
Ranawat said Rama Sweets, owned by Suwalal Sharma in bazaar number three, was raided by a food security department team on March 8.
“Samples of the sweets had been collected from the shop on a complaint of adulteration. The samples were sent to a laboratory and it was found that the sweets were adulterated,” said Ranawat.
The officer said a case was registered against Sharma for food adulteration.
Similarly, samples of refined oil being sold by Shakti Bardana Bhandar were collected on October 24.
“The oil too was found adulterated following which a case was registered against shop’s owner Rakesh Kumar Agrawal. Both the cases came up for hearing in additional district magistrate Teekamchand Bohra’s court,” said the officer.
The officer said it was a unique order and a first of its kind punishment for adulteration.
“The signboards would be a warning for the customers at these two shops to purchase items with caution as their owners have been caught and punished for adulteration.
It would be a lesson for other shopkeepers who indulge in adulteration during the festive season,” said a senior Bhilwara district administration officer.