MLA Simarjeet Bains alleges milk scam, enters Verka Plant in Ludhiana

He claimed that a Rs 200 crore annual scam in supply of milk by Verka had been going unchecked in the state.
Ludhiana : In the second such complaint against Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) president and Atam Nagar MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains in less than two months, the authorities at the Verka Milk Plant, Ferozepur Road, have approached the police, accusing the MLA of obstructing employees from doing their duty.
On Tuesday, Bains had conducted a surprise check at the plant, alleging that Verka supplied milk low on fat and Solids Not fat (SNF) than what it claimed on the packets. He also claimed that a ₹200 crore annual scam in supply of milk by Verka had been going unchecked in the state.
Previously, on April 24, Bains had been booked for trespassing and forceful entry into the Passport Sewa Kendra of Ludhiana on April 24. The assistant passport officer was the complainant then.
ACP (west) Gurpreet Singh said the police had received a complaint and will lodge a First-Information Report (FIR) after availing legal opinion.
Bains also took milk samples
Bains, who went to the plant along with a private lab technician, also took samples of milk in presence of plant authorities. He alleged, “Verka claims on its milk packets that it contains 4.5% fat and 8.5% SNF. Regular testing of their milk was done for over two weeks in the labs of Milkfed in different districts. The milk was found be low on both these parameters. On Tuesday also, fat quantity in milk was 4.1% and the SNF was 8%.”
He added, “This means that Verka is overcharging ₹5-₹6.5 on every litre of milk it supplies. Around 12 lakh litre of milk is sold in packets by Verka plants across the state and this is a scam of ₹200 crore.”
He also alleged that the scam was being run with the connivance of officials, demanding that a case be registered.
Allegations false, says Verka GM
General manager of Verka milk plant, Harminder Singh, said, “All allegations of the MLA are baseless. We supply proper amount of fat and SNF in our milk. MLA Bains and his team entered our plant in an unauthorised manner. They did not follow any procedure to take samples. We have filed a complaint against Bains with our management.”