Delhi: 4 men arrested for manufacturing illegal pesticides in Alipur

Four men, including a godown owner, were arrested in Outer North Delhi’s Alipur for allegedly manufacturing and storing illegal pesticides worth around Rs 3.5 lakh, an official said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Parveen, the godown owner; Manoj Kumar Yadav (45), Rahul Kumar Yadav (22) and Shaty Narayan Yadav (24), who work as labourers at the site, he said.

Around 3.2 tonnes of the banned agricultural chemicals, worth approximately Rs 3.5 lakh, were recovered from the premises, he added.

“Acting on a tip-off, police raided a godown located at Khasra No. 713 near Shivam Dharam Kanta in Alipur on July 9. The raid was conducted in coordination with the insecticide inspector from the Agriculture Department of the Delhi government,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami said.

Upon searching the premises, officials discovered a large quantity of unlicensed and potentially harmful pesticides being illegally stored and repackaged, he said.

“A total of 3.2 tonnes of insecticides — likely to be used by farmers in the ongoing paddy season — were seized. The materials were found packed and labelled in violation of legal norms,” the DCP added.

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Based on the recovery, a case was registered at the Alipur police station under Section 29 of The Insecticide Act.

“During interrogation, Parveen disclosed that he had been running the illegal pesticide business without a licence for the past two years and was selling these products in the local market,” the DCP said.

The seized stock was labelled as hazardous and marked “poison”, with most of the products packed in branded bags resembling legitimate supplies.

Further investigation is underway to trace the supply chain and distribution network of the fake agricultural products, the officer added.