Dairy owner in Indore held under NSA for using chemical to make milk products

INDORE: A dairy plant owner was arrested in Indore city on Wednesday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly using acetic acid to curdle milk for making products such as cottage cheese.

As much as 70 liters of acetic acid with more than 99 per cent concentration was seized from two dairies located near Polo Ground Industrial Area during raids on Tuesday, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Abhay Bedekar said.

"On an arrest warrant issued by the administration under the NSA, Tikamdas Thadani (52), owner of a dairy plant in the city, was arrested and sent to Central Jail," said Banganga police station in-charge Rajendra Soni.

Under the NSA, a person can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months if authorities are satisfied that he or she is a threat to the national security or law and order.

"The use of acetic acid to curdle milk is prohibited. It can have harmful effects on health," Bedekar said.

Thadani and the owner of the other dairy -- who is absconding -- were using the chemical to save money and time and playing with consumers' lives in the process, he alleged.

As the owner of the other dairy was yet to be tracked, the NSA had not been invoked against him so far, the ADM added.