Chandigarh, Sep 30 (IANS): Members of the Youth Congress in Punjab were detained in Bathinda town on Wednesday after they locked the office of the district agriculture officer.

The Youth Congress activists, led by Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, were proceeding towards the office of the deputy commissioner in Bathinda, 240 km from here, when they were detained. They were later released.

The Youth Congress leaders demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) should be constituted under the direct supervision of a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to probe the multi-crore pesticide scam.

Laying siege to the agriculture office in Bathinda, Bittu said "Nothing can be expected from the Chief Minister (Parkash Singh Badal) of the state who is shielding the corrupt political aides of his party and the government officials concerned."

Urging the high court to take suo moto notice of the pesticide scam, Bittu said "The total loss to the farmers due to the white fly is pegged at around Rs.1,200 crore."

He said the Badal government had failed to protect the interests of farmers.

At least 60 percent of the crop in the cotton-growing Malwa belt of south west Punjab has been damaged this year.