By Imna Longchar
Dimapur (Nagaland), June 16: In a shocking incident,’ fake plastic rice’ was confiscated by Dimapur district administration from a shop cum godwon situated at Nahabari Junction on Tuesday after it was found that the illegal stuff was being allegedly sold .
Officials from the district administration, food & civil supply department, Dimapur, and police ,assisted by the Naharbari Village Council (NVC) and youths of the locality swung into action by checking the shop and the godown (M/S Arihant Industries) after a video went viral in the social media about the “fake rice” rice being sold in the shop.
A source from Dimapur police has confirmed to this correspondent that a shop and a food grain godown have been sealed and samples have been collected from both the places for lab examinations. The test reports are still awaited.
Chairman, NVC, Tokheli Kikon, said the selling and storing of “plastic rice’ came to light after a Naga customer complained about the quality of the rice.
She said that as one cannot identify whether it is “fake or real”, only after the sample of the rice grain is tested by the competent authorities, only then outcome would be known.
Another official from the district administration disclosed that since the alleged incident is related to rice, the food and civil supplies department will start their own enquiry while the food safety team has been informed for collection of the samples.
Stating that it is quite early to comment until the department concerned gets the result from the lab, the official also said that once the result of the samples are out and if there is any contamination found, the concerned shop keeper would be booked under Essential Commodities Act.
It may be mentioned that, the incident came to light after a Naga handcart puller was hired by his wife’s friend to purchase rice from the shop and when he examined the same, he found out that it was mixed with some quantity of “plastic rice grains”.
He made video of the same and uploaded on the social media that went viral .
