Inter-State Fake Cotton Seed Racket Busted; Main Accused Arrested, Remanded
Adilabad, June 16: Telangana Voice 2026
In a major crackdown on the illegal sale of fake cotton seeds, Adilabad District Police have busted an inter-state racket involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit cotton seeds and unauthorized pesticides. Several key accused have been arrested, while others remain absconding, District SP Akhil Mahajan, IPS, said at a press conference held at the AR Headquarters in Adilabad.
Police registered a case against nine persons in connection with the racket. The investigation revealed that the accused had been exploiting innocent farmers by selling banned and fake cotton seeds for huge illegal profits running into crores of rupees.
The prime accused, Papinwar Sunil Kumar (56), owner of Nithiksha Agritech and Genious Crop Sciences in Hyderabad, was arrested and remanded. During the investigation, he confessed that he had been procuring fake cotton seeds from Gujarat and distributing them through a network operating in Telangana and Maharashtra.
According to the SP, Sunil Kumar had earlier worked as a salesman for various seed companies and developed contacts with farmers and fertilizer dealers across the erstwhile Adilabad district. In 2018, he established his own companies and later turned to the illegal trade of counterfeit seeds after failing to earn expected profits through legitimate business.
Police investigations revealed that fake cotton seeds branded as “Pink Bond” were supplied through agents and local distributors to unsuspecting farmers. The racket involved suppliers from Gujarat, distributors from Maharashtra, and local operatives in Adilabad district.
During raids, police seized 792 packets of fake Pink Bond cotton seeds, expired seeds, unauthorized pesticides, packaging materials, printing and packing machinery, an Indica Vista car, and four mobile phones. The value of the seized fake cotton seeds is estimated at Rs. 9.5 lakh, while the expired seeds and pesticides are worth another Rs. 9.5 lakh, taking the total seizure value to approximately Rs. 19 lakh.
Among those arrested are Girish Patel, a seed supplier from Gujarat; Rathod Pandit and Rathod Balaji from Maharashtra; and Eshwar of Ichoda mandal. Several accused, including the alleged kingpin Sandesh Bandewar, remain absconding.
SP Akhil Mahajan warned that strict action would be taken against anyone involved in the manufacture, transportation, or sale of fake seeds. He advised farmers to purchase seeds only from authorized dealers and insist on proper bills and receipts. Farmers were also urged to immediately report suspicious seed or pesticide sales to the police or agriculture department officials.
The press conference was attended by Adilabad DSP L. Jeevan Reddy, Two Town Inspector K. Nagaraju, CCS Inspector Chandrasekhar, SIs Akhil and Gopikrishna, along with other police personnel.
