Jagran correspondent, Agra. Traders of fake desi ghee cashed in every festival well. Took full advantage of the goodwill of 18 renowned brands including Amul, Patanjali, Real Gold. Fake ghee was sold in packaging of high selling brands in the area. Fake ghee worth approximately Rs 10 crore was sold in two years. During investigation, police found evidence of sale worth Rs 1.18 crore.
In the year 2022, the traders of fake ghee had opened a factory in Maruti Pravasam Colony located at Kahrai Mor. Three warehouses were taken on rent for this. For the first time, fake ghee was sent to Bajrang Traders on 10 December 2022. Investigation revealed that fake ghee worth Rs 43 lakh had been sent to Bajrang Traders till November 8, 2024. Manager Rajesh Bhardwaj kept an eye that no type of ghee could be identified. Copies of all the bills were found from the warehouse.
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Assistant Commissioner Food Shashank Tripathi said that 13 samples of fake desi ghee have been taken. Has been sent to the laboratory for investigation. The report will come in 14 days.
15 kg tin was purchased from scrap dealers
Empty tins were also purchased by Rajesh Bhardwaj and others. Investigation revealed that the tin was purchased from scrap dealers. One tin was of 15 kg. After removing the label, a new label of a different brand was placed. Let us tell you that there were complaints regarding fake desi ghee. However, cognizance was not taken by the authorities. Traders of fake ghee continued to take advantage of this.
Copies of their bills were found
1.91 lakh to Akshay Traders on April 2024 and 1.52 lakh to Shyam Traders, 13.47 lakh to Anant Kumar and Satish Kumar Jammu on other dates including 11 March 2024, 2 lakh to Nagchandra Jammu on 8 March 2024, 1.28 lakh to Vibhu Agency Gonda, Goyal Traders Meerut. 6.34 lakh, new traders 2.78 lakh and Anil Rs 1.41 lakh to Traders Prayagraj, Rs 35 thousand to Om Agencies Shahjahanpur, Rs 89 thousand to Gokul Company Bihar, Rs one lakh to Om Trading Udaipur Rajasthan.
The factory was running for six months
A factory of fake desi ghee was running in Kahrai Mor of the city for six months. The factory operating in one bigha had three big warehouses. 350 kg of ghee was prepared every day. The cost of making one kg of ghee was Rs 170 and it was sold in the market for Rs 600. The gang’s network is spread in seven states including Uttar Pradesh, Jammu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. There was also no registration with the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA). Only the registration number of the Food Department of Gwalior was mentioned on the packing of fake ghee.
The action lasted for five hours
Even after this the FSDA officials had no clue about it. On Thursday, the action continued for five hours in the factory located at Kahrai Mor. Agra has become a hub for making fake and adulterated ghee. Fake ghee has been recovered in Vijay Nagar Colony, Trans Yamuna, Shastripuram, Sikandra, Runkata and other areas. The factory of fake desi ghee in Maruti Pravasam located at Kahrai Mod has not opened in a day.
There are many factories in Gwalior also
Neeraj Aggarwal, Brajesh had started preparing for it a year ago. Neeraj also has many factories in Gwalior, in which desi ghee and other products are made. Six months ago, machines were brought one after the other and refined and other items started being ordered. Neeraj hired three employees from Gwalior. This includes Shiv Charan, Ravi, Bhaskar Gautam and Sagar resident Dharmendra Singh.
The factory is divided into three parts
During interrogation, the employees told that the factory has been divided into three parts. Machines are kept in one of them and ghee made in the warehouse and empty canisters are kept in the remaining two. The quantity of ghee was written in a leaflet. This information was given by the manager. Every day 350 kg of fake ghee was prepared in the factory. To make fake ghee, essence and BR oil are added to refined. Palm oil sold for Rs 100 was used.
Desi ghee tadka was applied to bring fragrance
Along with this, to bring fragrance, pure desi ghee was added to the fake ghee. Fake ghee was prepared and kept in 15 kg tins and was sold on demand in any state or region. Assistant Commissioner Food Shashank Tripathi said that one kg of fake ghee was prepared for Rs 150 and sold for Rs 600. Since it was labeled as a well-known brand, no one could doubt it. It was easily sold.
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