Bengaluru: The Adugodi police have arrested four people, including authorized seller of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) for selling adulterated Nandini brand ghee in Bengaluru.
“We have formed a special team to nab the accused based on a complaint KMF Director (Marketing) M.T. Kulkarni,’’ Additional Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru East) Semanth Kumar Singh told reporters here on Wednesday.
According to the police, the adulterated products were sold in the KMF dairy parlour located at Bengaluru Dairy Union compound near Adugodi.
The police have identified the arrested persons as Ayyappaswamy alias Mani, 30, a resident of KP Agrahara, Magadi Road, M. Maruthi,27, manager of Eagle Enterprises, residing at Chikkegowdana Palya, near Kengeri, G. Shivakumar, 44, who owned a Nandini parlour, Kumara Park, and Sukumaran, 67, a resident of Kumaripuri Colony, Bharathipuram, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.
“Ayyappa, the main accused, used to take adulterated Palm oil, Dalda and butter in cans to a warehouse at Erode in Tamil Nadu in his own Tempo Traveler vehicle. After making the adulterated ghee packets by using a machine, he used to bring the adulterated ghee to Bengaluru to sell to consumers. The accused could not sell more than 100 litres since police arrested him within a few days,’’ the Additional Commissioner of Police said.
The police said the main accused has indulged in adulteration of ghee to earn more money and repay debts.
“Ayyappa came to Bengaluru from Tamil Nadu 15 years ago. He rented a house at KP Agrahara and selling noodles of Anil brand for livelihood. He has been making ghee which is used for pooja at his home. He decided to make adulterated ghee of Nandini brand to earn more money. He decided to make it in Tamil Nadu to avoid arrest,’’ the Additional Police Commissioner said.
The police said the accused has procured the packing machine through a broker in Hyderabad and got stickers of Nandini brand ghee printed in Pondicherry.
“Later, he contacted Sukumaran, working as a manager of a printing warehouse and prepared 200 ml and 500 ml and one litre ghee packs. He used a Tempo Travelor to transport the adulterated ghee to Bengaluru,’’ the police said.
The police said, the main accused, after coming to know about the arrest of Maruthi and Shivakumar, dumped the adulterated ghee in a storm water drain. “The accused was nabbed while trying to escape to Tamil Nadu to evade being arrested,’’ the police said.
A case has been registered at Adugodi police station under the Sections of 272 (Adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (Sale of noxious food or drink) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
Two held for theft
The Bommanahalli police have arrested two people for stealing ornaments, laptops and mobile phones.
The police have identified the accused as Manjunath alias Manju, 35, residing at No. 18, 1st Cross, MSR Layout, Hongasandra near Bommanahalli, and O Munikrishna alias Narasimha, 35, a resident of Mariyamman Temple Street, Bathalapalli, Hosur town, Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
“With the arrest of Manjunatha, the police have detected 19 theft cases took place in Bommanahalli, Madivala and Parappana Agrahara police limits. The accused used to be friendly with women working at garment factories and take keys without their knowledge and steal valuables from their homes while they are on duty,’’ the police said.
The police have seized gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 12 lakh, an electric cutter machine and 15 keys from the accused.
The police have detected six house breaking cases with the arrest of Munikrishna and recovered Rs 5 lakh worth gold and silver ornaments, laptops and mobile phones from the accused.
