New Delhi, October 29 — Delhi's Food Safety Department has seized 948.9 litres of ghee during raids at three locations across the capital — Bhogal Market, Najafgarh Market and Shiv Vihar — as part of its drive against food adulteration during the festive season, officials said. The raids were carried out on Wednesday, October 28.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

Officials seized 389.9 litres of ghee from Bhogal and 338 litres from Najafgarh. At Shiv Vihar, in a joint operation with Delhi Police, another 221 litres were confiscated. Fifteen ghee samples were collected from the Bhogal and Najafgarh locations and sent for laboratory testing, and officials said further action would be taken based on the reports.

In the police leg of the operation, a team of the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) of Northeast District, led by Inspector Deepak Pandey, raided a premises in Gali No. 22, Phase 10, Shiv Vihar, Karawal Nagar, on October 28 after Head Constable Hemant received secret information about the alleged manufacture and supply of adulterated desi ghee in the area, police said. A 22-year-old man, identified by police as Mohd Sameer, a resident of the locality, was apprehended during the raid.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

Police said they recovered 11 tins and a drum containing approximately 221.550 kg of suspected adulterated ghee from the premises, along with two gas stoves, an LPG cylinder, two empty refined-oil tins, an empty blue-coloured drum, a weighing machine and other utensils allegedly used in its preparation and handling. A case has been registered at Karawal Nagar police station vide FIR No. 311/2026, dated October 28, under Sections 318, 125, 274 and 275, read with Section 3(5), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, police said. Police said verification of the accused's background had not revealed any previous criminal involvement so far.

Police and food safety officials stressed that adulteration has not yet been conclusively established: the seized ghee is suspected to be adulterated and will undergo examination and analysis to determine its composition and whether it meets food-safety standards.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the campaign against adulterated food would continue throughout the year and would not be limited to the festive season, and that action would be taken against those found involved in adulteration, including branded companies. She said the government plans to equip the Food Safety Department with modern technology and increase its staff strength to speed up inspections, with personnel from other departments deployed if needed. Residents can report complaints about adulterated or poor-quality food and expired products by calling the Food Safety Department's helpline at 1800-11-3921 during office hours.