BUSTED – Factory in UP’s Hathras made fake spices by mixing donkey manure, ‘bhusa’ and acids

Agra: Police in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh, on Monday night, raided a factory that involved the manufacture of adulterated spices from local brands using spurious ingredients including donkey manure, acids and hay (bhusa) and more than 300 kg of counterfeit spices. The factory owner, identified as Anoop Varshney, has been arrested.

Adulterated Red Chili Powder, Coriander Powder, Seized Turmeric

Varshney is the ‘Mandal Sah Prabhari ‘ from Hindu Yuva Vahini, an organization founded by UP CM Yogi Adityanath in 2002. At his factory in the Navipur area of ​​Hathras, the police, during the raid, found spices, including red chili powder, coriander powder, mixed spices (garam masala) and turmeric, were being adulterated with donkey manure, inedible colors, acids, and hay (bhusa), according to a report by The times of India.

Samples sent for testing

Police sent 27 samples of the spices to a laboratory for analysis. In the meantime, Varshney has been placed in judicial custody under Section 151 of the CrPC (arrest to avoid the commission of recognizable crimes), Joint Justice Prem Prakash Meena told TOI. Once the lab test results come in, a case will be filed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, Meena added.

Another incident

Meanwhile, the UP Special Task Force (STF) busted a scam selling Indian Railways tatkal tickets and arrested his mastermind, identified as Saddam Hussain Ansari, from Basti district.

STF officials have confiscated 245 train tickets, including 243 tatkal tickets used in the past, two laptops, a mobile phone, and some documents. During questioning, Ansari told police that he was part of the interstate gang, which was active in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, and other states.