The products at the godowns are worth Rs 16 lakh. (Express)The Pune City Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a man for selling counterfeit items under branded names. The accused has been identified as Hitesh Raghavji Ravriya (30).
Acting on a tip-off, a Crime Branch team raided three godowns in Gokul Nagar and the Katraj-Kondhwa Road on Friday and seized detergent powders, soaps, toilet cleaners, floor cleaner, face creams, hair oil and air fresheners, all worth Rs 16 lakh.
According to police, these products were marked with labels of popular brands. They were then supplied to several shops, who sold them to many people, police said.
The police have launched a search for Ramji Mahadev Patel (42), who was allegedly operating this business. According to the Crime Branch, Ravriya, Patel and their accomplices are from Kutch in Gujarat. They had taken godowns on rent in Kondhwa at least two years ago and had been selling counterfeit products since then, police said.
An offence in this case has been lodged at Kondhwa police station under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 34 (acts done in common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Copyright Act.
Ravriya was produced before the Cantonment Court, which remanded him to police custody till September 30.
