Sweet fruits in city poisoned for artificially ripening


If you are a mango lover beware! The Shadow police on Wednesday raided a shop and  arrested a person for attempting to sell mangoes which were artificially ripened using calcium carbide.


The police raided the AKM fruits shop at Panangad and seized more than one tonne of mangoes stored for artificial ripening. The mangoes were meant to be supplied to different parts of the city.


Vahaab 35, the owner of AKM fruits shop was arrested. The mangoes were wrapped with plastic covers containing calcium carbide. The police had earlier arrested a person in another part of Kochi for selling mangoes ripened using a similar method.


The police have charged a case under IPC 270  for deliberately spreading infection of any disease dangerous to life.The police claim that such mangoes are hazardous to health.


The calcium carbide is also a carcinogenic substance, capable of causing cancer. The police have decided to intensify checking in the fruit stalls to prevent such illegal activities.


The police said that wholesalers usually bring tonnes of unripened mangoes from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at cheap rates. Later they ripen the mangoes using artificial methods. Besides, calcium carbide there are also chemical sprays available in the market that would speed up the ripening process.

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