In a major crackdown on an interstate food adulteration network, the Bengaluru police, on Monday (17th November) arrested four individuals connected with the network that sold fake ghee in the name of the popular brand ‘Nandini‘ owned by Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation (KMF). The accused have been identified as Mahendra, Deepak, Muniraj and Abhiarasu.
The adulteration network came to light after suspicious supply patterns caught the authorities’ attention. The KMF officials noticed that accused Mahendra, an official KMF dealer-cum-distributor who regularly placed large ghee orders, significantly reduced the size of his orders from the usual 100 litres to just 50 litres over the past few months. It was revealed during inspection that Mahendra had been mixing palm oil and other fats with genuine Nandini ghee, increasing the quantity of 1 litre of real ghee into 5 litres of adulterated product. The adulterated ghee was then supplied to Nandini Parlours across the city.
A joint team of the Central Crime Branch Special Investigation Squad and the KMF Vigilance Wing tracked the activities of the network on Friday (14th November) based on secret intelligence. The investigators raided the warehouse, shops, and vehicles linked to Chamarajpet’s Nanjamba Agrahara-located Krishna Enterprises, which is believed to be the supply hub of the fake ghee. A vehicle transporting adulterated ghee was seized by the authorities, and the driver was arrested.
Investigation into the activities of the racket revealed that the racket produced adulterated ghee in Tamil Nadu, filled it into counterfeit Nandini sachets and plastic bottles, before supplying it to the accused in Bengaluru, who held official Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) licences. This fake ghee was then sold to wholesale shops, retail outlets, and Nandini parlours at full market price. Investigators seized over 8000 litres of fake ghee, coconut and palm oil, along with cash worth ₹1.19 lakh. “Four accused have been arrested so far. Authorities have seized 8,136 litres of adulterated ghee, coconut and palm oil, Rs 1.19 lakh in cash, four goods vehicles, machinery used for manufacturing the adulterated ghee, and other related items. The total value of the seized property is approximately Rs 1.27 crore,” said a statement by the office of Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh.
A case has been filed by the police under the CCB Special Investigation Division. An investigation is currently underway, including Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) lab testing to confirm the extent of adulteration.