Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice to a spice and dry fruits shop to stop business activities after inspectors found multiple regulatory violations at the establishment, which is owned by the family of Siya Goyal, accused in the murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal. The action was taken after the firm was found to have not complied with certain mandatory provisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, the regulatory authority said on Wednesday.
It is pertinent to mention that Siya Goyal and her boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary (22) are accused of pushing her fiancé Agarwal (25) off a cliff at Lohagad Fort in Pune district on June 18 during a trek, leading to his death.
Rs 8.14 lakh stock seized
A team from the FDA visited the shop located at Market Yard in the heart of Pune city, which is operated by M/s BG Goyal and Company, and collected four samples of food products, including turmeric powder of 'Sant' and 'Sadhu' brands, sesame seeds, and soybean chunks.
A stock of 4,172 kg of these products, valued at Rs 8.14 lakh, was seized during the inspection due to suspected contravention in labelling and possible adulteration. The seized stock comprised 598 kg of a brand of turmeric powder, 1,258 kg of another brand of turmeric powder, 538 kg of sesame seeds, and 1,778 kg of soya mini chunks.
Inspectors also found that the shop had not updated its licence records as required by regulations. Based on these gaps under the Food Safety and Standards Act, the FDA has ordered the business to shut down until it is cleared to continue.
"Considering the violations, a notice has been issued directing the firm to stop its business activities until further orders," an official said.
Investigation steered to Rajasthan
Meanwhile, a Crime Branch team visited Rajasthan as part of a probe into Agarwal's murder after it came to light that Goyal and Chaudhary visited the desert state in December last year.
The police did not provide further details.
They had earlier said that certain messages between the couple, recovered during the investigation, pointed to the possibility that they had married in secret at a temple there. A team travelled to the site to look for CCTV recordings that might confirm this, but officials say the search turned up nothing conclusive.
"A police team visited the temple and checked if any CCTV footage was available to confirm their marriage. However, nothing was found," a Pune rural police official said.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
Also Read: 'Siya, Chetan used coded chats,' say police as probe continues in Ketan Agarwal murder case
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