Chandigarh, Oct 22: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday accused the state government of defrauding farmers, saying the procurement of crops “is missing, forcing farmers to sell them at below the minimum support price (MSP)”.

“Where are the BJP government’s Bhavantar Yojana and government procurement agencies? The government is continuously defrauding farmers by not paying the MSP for crops like paddy, millet, green gram, and cotton,” the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly questioned.

He said crops are being sold at throwaway prices, while the government and agencies are missing. “This is a betrayal of farmers. Long queues are forming for fertilisers. Farmers are struggling from sowing to selling their crops. The government has no time to care for them,” the Congress legislator said in a statement.

Hooda said millet is being sold from Rs 1,800 to Rs 1,850 per quintal in the Narnaul market, but not a single grain has been purchased by the government.

“Not a single grain of millet was purchased in the mandis of Nuh district either. Farmers did not receive a single penny above Rs 1,700-1,800 per quintal. The situation in Hisar mandis is even worse. Despite the MSP of Rs 2,775 per quintal, farmers are suffering losses,” he pointed out.

The Congress leader said 40,000 tons of moong arrived in Hisar markets, but government agencies did not purchase a single grain. He added that cotton and millet are also being sold at throwaway prices in Bhiwani. “Cotton is being sold at Rs 6,500-7,200 per quintal, while the MSP is Rs 8,100 per quintal. Due to the lack of government procurement, only millers are purchasing, resulting in complete losses for farmers,” he said.

Hooda questioned claims by government agencies that the crop does not meet standards, and therefore, procurement is not taking place. “What standards is the government talking about? If the standards were correct when the seeds were sold, how did they go wrong at harvest time?” he questioned.

“Did the farmer cultivate the millet crop at home? If the seeds were faulty, why did the farmer suffer losses? Was any action taken against those selling the faulty seeds? Were the faulty seeds sold throughout Haryana? Where were the BJP government and its representatives when the seeds were being sold? These are all mere excuses for not purchasing the crop under the government’s guise,” the two-time Chief Minister added.

Ranchi, Oct 22: The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday expressed strong displeasure over the pendency of more than 200 preliminary inquiries (PEs) at the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The court directed the agency’s Director General to submit a detailed affidavit explaining why there is so much delay and when the probes will be completed.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation, observed that it was a matter of serious concern that out of 613 preliminary inquiries registered with the ACB, 480 have been disposed of, while 211 cases remain pending for a long period.

The bench said the state’s premier anti-graft agency cannot cite workload or shortage of staff as excuses for delays in corruption investigations.

It also remarked that the ACB was created precisely to handle such inquiries and ensure swift action against corruption, adding that any delay undermines public confidence in the system.

During the hearing, a Deputy Superintendent of Police submitted an affidavit on behalf of the ACB, claiming that the bureau was burdened with confidential verifications, intelligence gathering, and a large number of ongoing investigations, which had caused delays in disposing of pending cases.

The court, however, rejected this explanation. It said that such justifications cannot be accepted.

It further noted that arguments citing the retirement or death of officials under investigation were equally untenable.

The court said the responsibility of the ACB does not cease merely because the concerned officer has retired or passed away. Each inquiry must reach its logical conclusion to ensure transparency and accountability.

The High Court has directed the ACB Director General to personally file an affidavit detailing the timeline for completion of the pending inquiries.

The matter has been posted for the next hearing on November 6.

Hyderabad, Oct 22: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday started questioning Dr Pachipalli Namratha and other accused in Chanchalguda Jail here in connection with the illegal surrogacy racket.

As part of the probe into alleged money laundering, the ED officials were questioning Dr Namratha, her son Pachipala Jayanth Krishna, Muthipeta Nandini, Dhanasri Santoshi Chitikireddi Kalyani, following permission granted by a city court.

The Nampally criminal court permitted the ED to interrogate the accused in jail till October 28.

Last month, the ED conducted searches in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an illegal surrogacy racket run by Dr Namratha alias Athluri Namratha in the name of Universal Srusthi Fertility & Research Centre

The Central agency had seized incriminating documents, details of couples defrauded and properties in possession of Dr Namratha.

The agency initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Gopalapuram Police Station, Hyderabad, for fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, illegal surrogacy and child trafficking.

Busted in August this year, the racket involved cheating couples through fraudulent IVF and surrogacy packages, infant trafficking, forged records and illegal operations even after the clinic’s license was cancelled in 2021.

About 25 accused were arrested in the case, which is being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Hyderabad Central Crime Station.

Searches conducted by the ED resulted in the seizure of documents, which revealed that Dr Namratha was offering such services to couples across India in different centres in Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Kolkata, etc.

The seized documents also revealed that Dr Namratha was involved in these activities for more than 10 years.

She created legal documents in the form of surrogacy agreements to project that the childless couples and carrier (surrogate) themselves approached her, and she was just providing the surrogacy services.