Racket printing fake NCERT textbooks busted, 3 held: Delhi Police

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) The Delhi Police's Crime Branch has busted a well-organised network involved in the printing and supply of counterfeit NCERT textbooks with the arrests of three persons and seizure of nearly 45,000 fake books, along with printing machinery and material worth around Rs 2 crore, officials said on Saturday.

The crackdown was carried out by the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell (ARSC) of the Crime Branch, dealing a major blow to the illegal trade that the officials said was operating across multiple states and undermining the education system.

According to police, a total of 44,862 counterfeit NCERT textbooks were seized during raids conducted in Delhi and Ghaziabad. Two offset printing-press machines, paper reels, printing ink and aluminium printing plates used for counterfeiting were also seized.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sumit (35), a resident of North Chhajjupur in Shahdara, Vinod Jain (65), a resident of Preet Vihar, and Kanishq (32), a resident of Yamuna Vihar. Police said the trio was involved in the storage, printing and distribution of pirated NCERT textbooks.

The action followed specific intelligence received on November 10, 2025, about a godown at Daryaganj allegedly being used to store and supply counterfeit NCERT books.

Acting on the input, a Crime Branch team, along with authorised legal representatives of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), conducted a raid at the godown and seized 12,755 duplicate textbooks. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Copyright Act, 1957, the officials said.

Additional sections of the BNS were invoked during further investigation and follow-up raids conducted to trace the source of printing. On Friday 16, the team raided an illegal printing unit in Jawli village in Loni, Ghaziabad, leading to the arrest of Sumit.

The factory, located near Ristal Road Puliya, was identified as a major hub for printing pirated NCERT textbooks, which were allegedly supplied to the other accused. During the raid, 32,107 counterfeit textbooks were seized along with raw material used for printing, the officials said.

Police said Jain was previously involved in a similar case related to counterfeit NCERT books, while the two other accused had no criminal record.

Further investigation is on to unearth the entire network, trace the nationwide supply chain and apprehend others involved in the racket, police said, adding that strict action would continue against organised piracy to protect intellectual property rights and the integrity of the education system. PTI SSJ RC