Cuttack: Production of fake edible commodities in and around the Millennium City is posing a threat to commoners.
Police have busted five units producing adulterated goods in the city and on its outskirts in the last six months. However, the administration has hardly taken any concrete step to check the menace.
The police had raided a fake ghee unit at Professorpada Sagadia Sahi December 27. The unit’s owner was supplying adulterated ghee to various parts of the state.
Soon after that, Purighat police busted a fake tobacco producing unit in Haripur area of the city. Jagatpur police had also raided a factory in Jagatpur Industrial Estate for supplying adulterated cement in April.
Badambadi police had come to know about a fake refined oil factory at Khannagar April 30. Several containers of fake refined oil were seized during the raid.
Jagatpur police Tuesday busted a fake edible oil producing unit in the locality. They seized 100 containers filled with adulterated mustard and refined oil. Anadi Charan Behera, the owner of the unit, was manufacturing adulterated oil by using rice bran oil and harmful chemicals. He had reportedly sourced the chemicals from Kolkata and Andhra Pradesh for producing the fake edible oil.
Police claimed that Behera was supplying adulterated edible oil to Cuttack Malgodown, one of the biggest wholesale markets in the state and districts like Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Angul, Balasore and Bhadrak.
“Behera was supplying the adulterated oil to many snacks producing companies in the city. He was charging between Rs 900 and Rs 1,050 for a container of adulterated refined oil while genuine oil costs around Rs 1,400 in the market,” said a police officer.
Jagatpur police in-charge Biranchi Narayan Pati said they would inspect a few chemical manufacturing units in Kolkata and Andhra Pradesh during the investigation.