Surat, April 16 (IANS) Officials in Surat have seized 2,029 kilograms of adulterated ghee and arrested two men after raiding a manufacturing unit in the Sachin GIDC area as part of a targeted crackdown on food adulteration.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) on Thursday conducted the operation under “Operation Shuddhi” after receiving specific information about the sale of duplicate ghee in parts of the city.
Following the inputs, multiple teams were formed and deployed, using technical surveillance and human intelligence to identify those involved.
Subsequently, a raid was carried out at a factory operating under the name ‘Sabka Foods’ in the Sachin GIDC area, as well as at a godown in Talangpor of Choryasi taluka.
Police recovered adulterated ghee worth Rs 14,19,960 and machinery, raw materials and other items worth Rs 21,61,570, taking the total value of seized property to Rs 36,36,530.
Cash and mobile phones were also seized. The accused, identified as Bharat Polara, 48, and Amin Vadhwaniya, 45, both businessmen, were arrested from the factory.
A case has been registered against them at the Sachin GIDC police station.
Investigators said the accused had set up a systematic adulteration process in which small quantities of pure ghee were mixed with palm oil, vegetable ghee and vegetable butter.
Artificial essence was added to replicate the smell of cow ghee, while synthetic colouring was used to produce its yellow appearance.
Police said the chemicals were measured with precision, including with syringes, making it difficult to distinguish the product from genuine ghee by smell or appearance.
During interrogation, the accused stated that production was customised to demand, with different grades supplied to traders. Lower-cost variants were made largely from oils, while higher-priced versions contained only a small amount of real ghee.
The products were sold at wholesale prices of Rs 600 to Rs 650 per kilogram and later retailed for up to Rs 1,000.
SOG DCP Rajdeepsinh Nakum said, “They would prepare ghee according to buyers’ demands, adulterate it, and then sell it. The ghee was mixed with palm oil, vegetable ghee and vegetable butter and sold as cow ghee. They had been operating this activity for the past two years.”
Police said the adulterated products were packaged under names such as ‘Vidur Cow Ghee’ and ‘Desi Ghee’, in sizes ranging from small pouches to 15 kg containers.
The accused supplied the products at lower prices to grocery shops in slum areas, as well as to hotels and roadside eateries along highways and in nearby districts.
Authorities suspect the distribution network extended across South Gujarat and possibly beyond.
Further investigation is underway to identify other traders and distributors linked to the operation.
–IANS
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