CCB arrests couple from Mysuru, kingpins of fake Nandini ghee racket

Continuing investigations into the adulterated and fake Nandini ghee racket, officials of the Central Crime Branch have arrested a couple from Mysuru, kingpins of the racket, which they were allegedly running for many years now.

The CCB officials, earlier this month, raided a Krishna Enterprises in Chamarajpet, the distribution unit of adulterated ghee being sold under the Nandini brand, and arrested four, including the owner, his son, and two of his employees, for supplying the substandard products to the shops and commercial establishments. 

Based on the information provided by them as to who was supplying them adulterated ghee in fake Nandini packaging, the sleuths raided a house in Mysuru and arrested the couple identified as Shivakumar, 45, and his wife Ramya, 40, who are reportedly the kingpins of the racket.

According to the police, the couple had set up a unit in Tamil Nadu, where they used substandard and adulterated products to prepare ghee on a large scale and sold it under the brand name of Nandini. The unit was also printing stickers and packaging of the Nandini brand, police said. 

The couple had set up an advanced facility with an investment of several lakhs of rupees to prepare spurious products and had a network of distributors both in Karnataka and outside the state. This is not only a loss to the state exchequer but also damaging the brand name of Nandini by selling sub-standard products in its brand name, a police officer said. 

The accused are habitual offenders involved in a similar case and booked by Mysuru City police last year, a police officer said. The police have freezed the couple’s bank accounts, and seized documents and other equipment to ascertain their network.