Posted by: confused_soul September 7, 2011
Anamol Sweets case: "Need consumer awareness"
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 KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Police arrested the proprietor and the manager of Anamol Sweets for selling sweets made with low-grade vegetable ghee. Also, the proprietor of Kanaiya Ghee Industry was arrested for selling sub-standard ghee. 

Kedar Rijal, Superintendent of Kathmandu District Police Range (KDPR), told Republica that Anamol Sweets´ proprietor B.L Sharma and manager Suman Thapa and Lok Prasad Agrawal, proprietor of Kanaiya Ghee, have been arrested by the district police on Wednesday afternoon.

“Sharma was arrested in Kalimati from his residence whereas Thapa was nabbed from the Anamol outlet at Bhatbhateni. We arrested Agrawal at District Administration Office (DAO), Babarmahal,” Rijal said. Cases will be filed at the DAO tomorrow, he said.

Sharma who is 87 years old has been admitted to Norvic Hospital in Thapathali on health grounds while the other two arrested by the police are currently lodged at Hanumandhoka police station. 

KDPR plans to file separate cases against them on Thursday under the Black Marketeering Act 1974 as they were found cheating the consumer by selling ghee products having a nominal content of pure ghee.

“We will start investigation into their alleged involvement in cheating the consumer and seek statement from them from Thursday,” Rijal said. 

DAO had directed the police on Tuesday to immediately arrest the proprietor of Anamol Sweets and others for selling sweets made with substandard vegetable ghee. 

Acting on complaints that Anamol Sweets was using low-quality ghee in the sweets, a DAO team raided its outlet and production unit at Bhatbhateni last week.

An investigation report prepared by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) shows that the sweet producer used low-grade vegetable ghee with almost negligible content of pure ghee to cheat the consumer. Anamol had purchased low-grade vegetable ghee from Kanaiya Ghee Industry at far lower price than the prevalent market rate.

According to Jeevan Prabha Lama, director general of DFTQC, Anamol Sweets cheated the consumer by using low-grade vegetable ghee in which purity was almost nil.

In a raid, a market monitoring team led by a senior official of DAO, had found 10 tins (11kg per tin) of sub-standard vegetable ghee and 100 packets of spices in the Anamol Sweets production unit and showroom in Bhatbhateni last Tuesday. The team comprised of representatives from Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology (NBSM), DFTQC and consumer rights organizations. 

According to Jyoti Baniya, general secretary of the Consumers Rights Protection Forum that filed complaints against these firms, if anyone is found cheating the consumer with substandard products in the name of pure and quality products, he can get one-year jail term and compensation as per the Black Marketeering Act.

source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=35741


Last edited: 07-Sep-11 06:52 PM
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