Berhampur: Berhampur Police has busted a duplicate ghee making unit and arrested the owner of the unit in this connection.
The accused has been identified as Epari Rajeswar Patra (53) of Housing Board Colony under Gosani Nuagaon PS.
The police also seized Berhampur Municipal Corporation Certificate of Trade License in name of M/S Tara Tarini Suppliers in name of E Koteswar Patra with trade purpose ‘Edible Oil and Ghee selling’, Invalid Trade License valid till 01.04.2023, 102 Paper Cartons containing Sri Maa Durga Ghee of 200 ml having 20 Pouchs in each cartons. Total 10,200 Pouches of 200 ml, 3 automatic ghee packaging machines, Polyethene rolls with Sri Maa Durga Ghee Marks meant for packing ghee, 91 tin containers fully loaded with Rice Bran oil-15 litres each, 100 paper cartons of Banaspati Ghee of Jubilee Mastercef company 15 kg each, 02 big pots containing oil being cooked on gas stoves, 03 Big Pots with finished product of ghee which was ready to be packed, 01 sealing machine, 01 grinding machine (Poly Mark), 1500 empty paper cartons with mark Sri Maa Durga Burning Oil meant for Packing of Durga Ghee and 02 steel handa used for ghee making.
Patra along with his brother and few others were manufacturing Sri Maa Durga Ghee by using different waste materials such as burnt oil, burnt mobil, low grade palm oil, low grade palmolin oil by adding dangerous chemicals etc. They were using sophisticated automatic packaging machines to pack the ghee packets. The ghee packets were having no trade license mark, no manufacture date, no expiry date etc.
The owner of company had been selling the ghee in many parts of state and out of state targeting poor, illiterate people who cannot read English and they are reportedly consuming the non-edible Ghee which is very dangerous and injurious to human health, the police said.
The accused persons were mostly sending the ghee to interior areas to cheat poor people. The trade license is also expired. It has not been renewed. The permission of the company is for selling of edible oil and ghee as per municipality license which is also expired. But the company has been manufacturing duplicate ghee for more than 2 years, said Berhampur SP Dr. Saravana Vivek M in a statement.
Rajeswar Patra was also earlier arrested and forwarded to court in guthkha cases.