Delhi: Fake Tata Salt found in factory bust, police arrest owner

The Delhi Police busted a fake manufacturing unit and seized 2,640 kg of counterfeit Tata Salt packets. Police said the accused have been running the factory in Outer Delhi’s Barwala for a year and were selling “cheap, inferior quality” salt as Tata Salt in bulk.

The accused, Mahesh (33), is the owner of the factory and was arrested with the fake Tata salt, thousands of plastic packets with the brand name written on them, and the machines.

To cheat their customers, the accused not only copied the design of the packet but also put QR codes which would lead people to the original Tata website https://www.tatasalt.com/.

Rajeev Ranjan, DCP (Outer North), said his team received information from an officer of Tata Consumer Products Ltd about the fake factory in Shahbad Dairy. Many customers in the area had complained about the salt and its quality.

On Friday, police raided the factory in Barwala and found salt packets dumped in a corner. Police said when they tested the salt, it was of cheap quality. The raiding team also found packing material, weighing machines, printers, and other machines to pack the salt and seal it.

Mahesh was arrested from the factory and booked under sections of cheating and the Copyright Act. He told police he was looking to make money when a met a man when who was doing the same business.

“He rented a godown in Jain Colony, Barwala, and started buying cheap salt from a friend in Naya Bazaar for Rs 2 per kg and sold at Rs 18 per kg. The accused then contacted shopkeepers in Delhi-NCR and sold the packets,” said a police officer.

Police said Mahesh hired workers to help with packing and selling the counterfeit Tata Salt packets. They didn’t keep records of the sale, but it’s estimated that the accused had sold more than 10,000 kg in the last year.

In the raid, police found around 2,000 fake packets with ‘Tata Salt’ written on them, nine white plastic bags with only the loose salt, and around 915 printed fake packets. Police are now searching for other associates who are on the run.