Cyberabad Police Busts Banned Cotton Seed Racket, Seizes 1.44 Tons

SOT Cyberabad Cracks Down on Organized Banned Seed Racket, Seizes 1.440 Tons of BG-III/HT Cotton Seeds Worth Rs. 36 Lakhs

Hyderabad May22

In a proactive move to curb the sale of banned cotton seeds, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Cyberabad, in collaboration with the Agricultural Department and local police, conducted a series of joint operations, resulting in the arrest of four individuals involved in the illegal transportation and sale of prohibited cotton seeds. The operations led to the seizure of 1.440 tons of BG-III/HT cotton seeds, which are banned by the Government of Telangana, valued at approximately Rs. 36 lakhs.

Case I: SOT Medchal and Genome Valley PS

The first case involved a joint operation by the SOT Medchal team and Genome Valley PS. The authorities arrested one individual, Pulikonda Yashwanth Kumar, a driver from Mancherial district, Telangana. He was found transporting 1.2 tons of banned BG-III/HT cotton seeds. The seeds were concealed in a Mahindra Bolero vehicle (TS 02 UC 7732) and were intended for sale to unsuspecting farmers. Suresh Yadav, identified as the receiver, and an unidentified supplier from Kushtagi, Karnataka, remain at large. This case was registered under Cr. No. , U/s 188, 420 IPC and 19 of the Seeds Act & Sec 15 of the EP Act.

Case II: SOT Rajendranagar and Shankarpally PS

In a separate operation, the SOT Rajendranagar team along with Shankarpally PS apprehended three individuals: Borra Shiva Shankar Rao, a farmer from Velmula, Telangana; Ashireddygari Srinivas Reddy, a businessman from Yelwerthy village; and Madamanchi Uday Kiran, a farmer from Shankarpally. The team seized 240 kgs of banned BG-III/HT cotton seeds valued at Rs. 6 lakhs. Another suspect, Hari Babu, and the supplier Srinivas Rao from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, are currently absconding. This case was registered under Cr. No. , U/s 188, 420 IPC and 19 of the Seeds Act & Sec 15 of the EP Act.

The seized items included the banned seeds, a Mahindra Bolero vehicle, mobile phones, and cash. The crackdown was executed under the supervision of D. Srinivas, DCP SOT Cyberabad, ADCPs Shoban Kumar and Srinivas Reddy, Inspectors R. Shyamsunder Reddy and P. Ramana Reddy, along with ACPs of Pet Basheerabad and Narsinghi, and officials from the Agricultural Department.

Authorities emphasized that the arrested individuals had been involved in the smuggling and illegal sale of prohibited seeds for several years, deceiving innocent farmers by selling these seeds at high prices in the black market. Further investigations are ongoing to apprehend the absconding suspects and dismantle the entire network.