Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has written to Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, welcoming his crackdown on food adulteration but alleging that officers in his department are extorting hotels, restaurants and quick-commerce firms by threatening licence suspension. Raut has sought an independent probe into an alleged “closing notice rate card".

In a three-page letter dated September 27, Raut said he had always admired Mundhe’s drive and integrity, and that the action against analogue paneer, adulterated milk, dirty hotel kitchens and expired stock since Mundhe took charge in May 2026 had brought the public relief. But the crackdown, he wrote, has another side that is just as shocking.

What Does Raut Allege In The Letter?

Raut alleged that Designated Officers (assistant commissioners) and Food Safety Officers are openly threatening hotels, restaurants and quick-commerce businesses with licence suspension and collecting money, and that the practice has become more aggressive than before.

He claimed traders from Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Wardha and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had approached him with “closing notice" stories.

What Is The Alleged ‘Rate Card’?

The letter says it is being said that a closing notice cost Rs 10,000-12,000 before Mundhe took over as commissioner and now costs Rs 75,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Raut alleged that money is openly demanded at the FDA’s Bandra headquarters and its Thane office.

He also alleged that two Thane Designated Officers collected Rs 17-18 lakh from a quick-commerce company to restore a suspended licence. These are allegations in Raut’s letter and have not been independently established.

Is Raut Also Questioning Mundhe’s Approach?

In part, yes. Raut wrote that Mundhe remains in the limelight over the raids and that some officers are exploiting this.

He alleged that many raids follow customer complaints that are never independently verified, and that licences are suspended on sight of rats, cockroaches or expired goods, skipping the legal sequence of inspection notice, compliance period, improvement notice and hearing before the Designated Officer.

If so, he said, it is abuse of power and extortion, not food safety.

Raut also claimed the crackdown falls hardest on a scattered food industry, while the pharma sector, which he alleged has a strong lobby and donates heavily to ruling parties, escapes similar scrutiny. Mundhe, he said, must show equal rigour to rebut that charge.

What Does Raut Want?

He has sought an independent probe into the alleged rate card and licence-reinstatement cases, mandatory verification of customer complaints, disciplinary action against officials bypassing the notice-hearing-suspension process, a separate probe into the Rs 17-18 lakh allegation, and public disclosure of the reasons, dates and hearing summaries behind every suspension and reinstatement.