Pune: Condoms, gutkha, stones found in samosas supplied to auto firm; 5 booked

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Five persons were booked after condoms, gutkha and stones were allegedly found in samosas supplied to a major automobile firm in Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune, a police official said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

Those booked comprise two workers of a subcontracting firm that was asked to supply the samosas as well as three partners of another such firm that had been removed earlier for adulteration, the official said.

"The three partners had allegedly planted these two workers to ensure the firm that had got the samosa contract now would get defamed," he said, reported PTI.

"Catalyst Service Solutions Pvt Ltd is responsible for providing food items to the canteen of the automobile firm. The firm had given a contract to provide samosas to another subcontracting firm named Manohar Enterprises. On Saturday, some of the automobile firm employees found condoms, gutka and stones in the samosas," he said, reported PTI.

After Manohar Enterprises' staffers were questioned over the incident, it was found that two workers, identified as Firoz Shaikh and Vicky Shaikh, had allegedly stuffed condoms, gutka and stones in the samosas, the Chikhli police station official said.

"We registered a case under IPC section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The two accused told us they are employees of SRA Enterprises and were sent by its partners to Manohar Enterprises to adulterate food supplied by the latter," he said, reported PTI.

SRA Enterprises was removed from the contract earlier after a bandage was found in a snack they had supplied and the partners, identified as Rahim Shaikh, Azhar Shaikh, and Majhar Shaikh, wanted to smear the market reputation of Manohar Enterprises, reported PTI.

"One person has been arrested. Further probe is underway," he added.

In another incident, a 19-year-old Muslim student of a university in Maharashtra's Pune city has been allegedly beaten up by five unidentified persons who accused him of engaging in "love jihad", police said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

The incident took place on Sunday afternoon when the male student was accompanying two female students on the campus of the state-run Savitribai Phule Pune University, an official from Chatushringi police station said, reported PTI.

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons and are trying to identify the culprits, he said, reported PTI.

The university authorities said they have set up a committee for a probe into the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)