Food adulteration mafia feasts while crackdowns falter

Despite years of crackdowns, registered FIRs, and ongoing operations by the Punjab Food Authority (PFA), the adulteration mafia remains active across Punjab. More than 600 individuals involved in food adulteration cases have been declared proclaimed offenders, but their failure to be arrested and the delay in submitting challans to courts has raised serious concerns.

Declaring the situation alarming, the Director General (DG) Punjab Food Authority urged the Punjab Police to take urgent and stringent action against proclaimed offenders involved in food adulteration, which he termed a crime against humanity. Acting on these concerns, the Punjab Additional IGP Operations has issued directives to the Rawalpindi CPO Khalid Hamdani and all district and city police officers across the province to ensure immediate arrests.

According to official sources, the PFA DG has formally written to the Additional IGP Operations, stressing that deliberate adulteration of food items poses severe health hazards, including food poisoning, chronic illnesses, organ failure, and even various forms of cancer. Since 2017, PFA's enforcement teams have been carrying out operations against adulterated milk, unsafe meat, and other contaminated food products, but the mafia continues its activities using unlawful means.

The letter revealed that in food adulteration cases alone, over 600 accused have been declared absconders across Punjab, including more than 125 in Lahore, 40 in Rawalpindi, 8 in Attock, 2 in Chakwal, as well as several from Gujranwala and other districts. The offenders continue to roam free, highlighting gaps in enforcement.