the goan I network
PANAJI
The first hearing in the case of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s South Goa designated officer Iva Fernandes, who has alleged harassment by the FDA director, will be held at the Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) court on February 7.
The complainant in the case, Iva, and her lawyer Aires Rodrigues, as well as the respondents FDA director Jyoti Sardessai and health secretary Ashok Kumar have been called for the hearing at the GHRC at 11:00 am.
The case is related to the formalin-on-fish controversy which took place on July 12, 2018, where Iva was the officer on duty, when the Schiff’s Reagent Test done on samples of fish, had turned pink, indicating the use of formaldehyde (a banned substance) in the preservation of fish. Press present during the test widely reported it. The FDA later on that same day, denied the presence of formaldehyde in the samples, after testing them in the FDA’s lab. In the ensuing controversy that kept fish-lovers in the state on their toes for months on end, and the government’s consequent struggle to instill faith in the people of the state, Iva has alleged that she was harassed on a daily basis by the FDA director for disclosing the presence of formalin-in-fish during the surprise raid carried out at the Margao Wholesale Market.
After Iva lodged a complaint with the GHRC, the commission asked the director to submit her response, after which Iva also submitted a rejoinder to her earlier affidavit, in which she stood her ground about the harassment meted out to her.
