Clay grains passed off as mustard seeds, FIR against 5

Bhopal: A simple water test blew the lid off a mustard scam in Madhya Pradesh, with the granules supposed to be the common kitchen spice turning out to be grains of clay.Acting on a complaint, officials of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) inspected a warehouse in Sagar district and tested the mustard seeds stored there. As they put a handful of seeds in a bowl of water, they were in for a shock - the seeds dissolved within a few minutes. The inspection team subsequently found nearly 40% of the mustard stock, procured as per the MSP set by the Centre, to be clay granules - a chilling reminder of how easily food safety can be compromised.Calling it a grave risk to consumers, NAFED filed an FIR on Jan 17, with five officials booked in the case.The fraud came to light after NAFED auctioned mustard stored at an MP Warehousing and Logistics Corporation godown at Rehli in Sagar to a firm in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. During lifting of the stock, the buyer complained that a large portion of the produce appeared to be suspicious and of questionable quality. Subsequent inspections by NAFED officials, conducted in the presence of warehouse authorities, cooperative society representatives and surveyors, confirmed the adulteration. "To the naked eye, the granules looked like mustard seeds, but subsequent water and laboratory tests confirmed they were made of clay," deputy manager at NAFED, Bhopal, Ranjit Kumar Singh told TOI.According to the FIR, NAFED procured about 8,950 quintals of mustard during the 2024-25 rabi season through two cooperative societies in Rehli. Of this, more than 8,600 quintals were sold through auction, while about 300 quintals remained stocked up in the warehouse. The procurement was carried out at a rate of Rs 2,650 per quintal, as per the Centre's MSP scheme.