3,870 kg spurious ghee seized in Ahmedabad

Busting a major racket of fake ghee being manufactured in the city on mass scale, the DG vigilance squad seized 3,870 kg of spurious ghee from a godown in Aslali. At 11 am on Tuesday, the vigilance squad conducted raids on two mini factories and one godown in Aslali and seized spurious ghee and other materials used in manufacturing and packing of the ghee.

The squad also arrested an owner, Ashok Manek, and manger Parag Jobanputra. Manek (32) is a resident of Subhash Park in Bodakdev, while Jobanputra (30) is a resident of Mansi Tower in Satellite.

The raid, led by inspector RL Solanki, went on for more than four hours. From the godown, officials found 258 tins of 15 kg each, the total of which came to be 3,870 kg. The spurious ghee was made from soybean oil and some chemicals. Apart from the ghee consignment, the squad also seized a large quantity of essence, colours and packing labels worth Rs5.16 lakh.

The labels belonged to a brand called Maruti Nandan. These labels also read 'pure ghee made from cow milk'. According to officials, the factory owners used to export the ghee to Veraval, Keshod and Rajkot. To escape from checking during transportation, the owners used to cover each tin with a separate label, suggesting that the material inside the tins is 'non-edible material'. After such fake ghee reached the destination, these labels were removed. 

The squad is now searching for two more accused involved in manufacturing of the fake ghee. They are Paresh Sindhi and Bipin Raval.