Mumbai Police busts butter and ghee adulteration racket in city, seizes materials worth Rs 1.2 lakh

The seized materials. Pic/Police sources

Mumbai Police's Crime Branch Control of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has uncovered a butter and ghee adulteration racket in city and seized materials worth over Rs 1.2 lakh, an official said on Saturday.

According to the police, the action was taken while acting on a tip-off and a raid was conducted at a shop in Nanabhai Building in Chira Bazaar under the jurisdiction of L. T. Marg Police Station in south Mumbai.

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The officials found two suspects involved in adulterating popular ghee brands, the police said.

The suspects were identified as Chaman Shamu Yadav, 40 and Jhaman Shamu Yadav, 55, both residents of Jogeshwari. The duo were caught red-handed while allegedly mixing palm oil, vanaspati, butter color and flavoring agents to produce counterfeit ghee, an official said.

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials were also present at the spot to assist in the raid," an official said.

The team seized a substantial amount of adulterated ghee and related materials from the spot, he said.

The police said that a total of 780 liters of fake ghee along with 425 bags labeled as top brands were seized from the spot. The police have also seized steel tank, funnel, plastic mug, kettle, flavor box, palm oil, sunflower oil, packing machine, empty packets of Amul pure ghee. The total value of the seized materials was estimated at Rs 1,20,540.

During the raid, a panchnama was conducted by the officials in presence of witnesses.

"The suspects were taken into custody and booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Food Safety and Standards Act," the official added.

The seized materials were later handed over to the L. T. Marg Police Station, where further investigations are underway.