6 held as Delhi Police seize 1,600 kg of adulterated ghee in crackdown ahead of festive season

New Delhi, Oct 2 (PTI) Delhi Police has arrested six men, busting a racket of selling adulterated ghee, 1,600 kg of which was seized from three illegal manufacturing units operating in northeast Delhi, officials said on Thursday.

The raid to curb spurious ghee containing harmful chemicals comes amid the festive season, with Diwali later in the month.

Six men identified as Safiq (30), Yusuf Malik (50), his son Mehboob (22), Shakir and Sharukh and Zamaluddin (40) were arrested in the crackdown carried out in Shiv Vihar, Karawal Nagar and Mustafabad, they said.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), consumption of the adulterated ghee can also cause cancer.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs about large-scale adulteration to exploit the surge in demand during Dussehra and Diwali, police formed multiple teams and conducted successive raids, DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh said.

A total of 105 iron tins containing 1,625 kg of adulterated ghee, along with chemicals, medicines, stoves, gas cylinders and manufacturing equipment, were seized from three locations, he said.

According to investigators, the accused purchased vanaspati ghee and cheap refined oil in bulk from the market. These were heated and mixed, with chemical-based flavouring agents, colours and unsafe additives used to give the mixture the texture and taste of pure desi ghee.

The product was then packed in tins resembling popular brands and supplied to dairies and shops, particularly during the festive season.

"Each tin of duplicate ghee costs them around Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,400 to produce, and they sold it for Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 in the market," a senior police officer said.

During the raids, police said Safiq was found running a unit in Karawal Nagar with 520 kg of spurious ghee. In another raid, four accused, including Malik and his son, were apprehended from Shiv Vihar with 440 kg of spurious ghee. In Mustafabad, Zamaluddin was arrested with 665 kg of adulterated ghee.

A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Food Safety and Standards Act. Further investigation is underway to trace the wider supply chain and identify others involved, police said.

Police said some of them were habitual offenders who had been booked earlier for similar crimes. PTI SSJ APL APL SKY SKY