Maharashtra FDA officer accused of accepting bribe over expired food
A Food and Drug Administration officer in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district faced public embarrassment after locals accused him of taking a bribe to let a shopkeeper sell expired food.
Things got heated during an inspection: people confronted the officer with packets of expired biscuits and tried to make him eat them, all caught on video.
The drama started after a two-year-old child fell ill after eating snack mix from the shop, and residents complained to the FDA; later, they accused him of protecting the shopkeeper instead of taking action.
Toddler sickened by paan shop snack
The whole situation kicked off after a two-year-old fell sick from snacks bought at the local paan shop, leading neighbors to call in the FDA.
During the inspection, expired biscuits were found, but no tough steps were taken against the shopkeeper.
Locals claimed the savory snack mix linked to the incident had already been removed before the inspection began and accused the officer of accepting money to look away.