Mohali: Three days on, momo factory owners booked for adulteration
The accused identified as Arzudeen and Joginderpal Singh were booked following the complaint of a Food Safety Officer (FSO)
Three days after health department officials in Mohali launched an investigation into the unhygienic conditions of a momo and spring roll-producing factory in Mataur village; the police on Wednesday booked the owners of the building for adulteration and spreading infection.
The accused identified as Arzudeen and Joginderpal Singh were booked following the complaint of a food safety officer (FSO). The FSO in her complaint told police that they received information that the workers at the said unit were using unhygienic material for preparing momos and spring rolls.
“After receiving the information, district health officer Amritpal Singh Warring along with the health staff reached the unit where the owner of the factory was not found, and two workers were found at the spot who were seemingly in an inebriated state. We found rotten vegetables and rotten ingredients used in the food items,” the FSO said.
However, Arzudeen while talking to the media said he had purchased the house, in which the said food unit was operational, from Joginderpal Singh a month ago for ₹16 lakh. “I am yet to get the registration of the house done on my name. Joginderpal had given the house on rent for the past 10 years, but I had already asked the workers to vacate the house by April 1 as neighbours complained about the unit. I also shared the same with the health officials,” Arzudeen, who runs a bakery in Mataur, said. A senior health official said that Arzudeen had already taken possession of the property as the registry was delayed due to an issue related to the NOC of the house.
The Mohali SSP said the accused have been booked under sections 272 and 274 of the BNS at Mataur police station.
The unit came under scrutiny after health officials discovered a severed animal head, suspected to be of a dog in a fridge in the unit. However, Mohali DC Komal Mittal denied it to be a dog’s head. “The piece of meat recovered from the kitchen was not of a dog. It is under analysis and it will be cleared by animal husbandry experts soon,” the DC said. Six samples have been collected from the unit and challans have been issued for violating Section 63 of the Food Safety & Standards Act.
