Odisha: Fake ghee factory busted, used burnt engine oil for manufacturing

BERHAMPUR, Nov 9: A 53-year-old man was arrested after a fake ghee manufacturing unit was busted in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Thursday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the unit, which was being run out of a house in Bada Bazar area of Berhampur town, was raided, they said.

The unit was operational for the last two years. The person arrested for allegedly being involved in running it, Epari Rajeswar Patra, was arrested last year as well for illegally operating a gutkha manufacturing unit. He was out on bail, police said.

It is suspected that a few more people are involved in the operations, they said.

Among the items seized were over 10,000 empty pouches, three automatic ghee packing machines, labels of a branded ghee company, 91 tin of rice-bran oil, 1,500 cartons, and sealing & grinding machine, police said.

It was found that burnt engine oil, low-grade palm oil and dangerous chemicals were used in making ghee, said Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M said.

The packets of ghee were not only sold in Odisha but in other parts of the country as well, he said.

The seized items would be sent for testing, he said, adding that a search was on to arrest the others involved. (PTI)