Bhadohi (UP), Aug 10 (PTI) Authorities raided a large factory here producing spurious engine oil to sell it under a premier brand name and arrested its owner and manager, officials said Saturday.
The raid was conducted under the direction of the District Magistrate Vishal Singh and a significant amount of the fake products were seized.
The operation took place on Friday night at ‘Petrolube Private Limited’ located at Carpet City, Plot No 1994, according to Supply Department officials.
During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit goods worth several lakhs of rupees were recovered, the officials said.
City Kotwali Station House Officer (SHO) Ashwini Kumar Tripathi said that based on a complaint filed by Supply Inspector Sangeeta Yadav, a case has been registered against the owner of Petrolube Private Limited, Vinay Kumar Singh, and the manager, Mukesh Kumar Gupta.
“The charges have been filed under sections 103, 104, 349, and 3/7 of the BNS, and further legal proceedings are ongoing,” Tripathi said.
Supply Inspector Sangeeta Yadav said the raid was conducted after Sunil Kumar, a manager at Castrol India Limited’s Leseran Network Limited in New Delhi, filed a complaint with District Magistrate Vishal Singh.
Kumar, along with the supply department and the police, participated in the joint raid during which 25 employees were found in the factory, Yadav said.
The raid, which lasted from late evening until 10 pm on Friday, led to the discovery of several large drums containing adulterated diesel, along with empty and filled containers, 700 packed cans, and 360 litres of fake lubricant oil bearing counterfeit labels similar to those of Castrol India, she said.
According to the investigation, the suspects revealed that they were supplying counterfeit oil on a large scale under the Castrol India Limited brand name, she added.
Sunil Kumar from Castrol India Limited estimated that the value of the seized counterfeit products is several lakhs, and the fake oil was being distributed across Purvanchal and other regions, the officer added.
