HYDERABAD: In a joint operation, the city police and the officials of the agriculture department arrested two persons on Friday, for the illegal transport and sale of unauthorised herbicide-tolerant (HT) cotton seeds. The police have seized 2,005 kg of the said seeds, worth Rs 32.52 lakh.
The arrested persons are Ravula Rajanikanth (48), Managing Director of Omkar Seed Tech, and B Mahesh, an auto-trolley driver.
Rajanikanth, after having gained extensive knowledge on the purchase and sales of the unauthorised seeds by working at a pesticide and seed firm, established Omkar Agri Tech at Abids in 2003.
As he was unable to make enough profits and started facing financial issues, he decided to sell the HT cotton seeds during the Kharif season. He had purchased a huge quantity of these seeds at Rs 500 a kg and had brought it by train to Secunderabad, where he and his accomplice were intercepted by the police.