Cops raid godown in Kandivli where accused was counterfeiting labels of branded companies and passing them off as genuine
Cops raid godown u00a0in Kandivli where accused was counterfeiting labels of branded companies and passing them off as genuine
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IN a raid carried out by the Kandivli police, cops busted a fake bulb racket yesterday and seized bulbs worth Rs 2 lakh.
According to the investigating officials, they received a tip-off from Secure Mark Company, which is in-charge of keeping tab on the piracy of Philips bulbs.
The accused, Lalit Ghosaliau00a0was arrested by the Kandivli police
from a godown in Iraniwadi nd fake bulbs in large quantity were seized
The police raided a godown in Iraniwadi and found fake bulbs in large numbers.
A cop told MiD DAY that when they reached the industrial base, they found labels and stamps of several branded companies including Bajaj, Philips and Crown.
Modus operandi
"After receiving a tip-off from Major Shashank Thakkarsi, the manager of Secure Mark Company, we raided the base and found bulbs worth Rs 2 lakh there," said Inspector L G Shinde, Kandivli police station.
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They also arrested 56-year-old Lalit Ghoshalia identified as the accused.
Shinde added, "Unmarked bulbs of low quality are imported from Hyderabad and then they are stamped here with labels of big companies and then passed off as genuine bulbs.
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The stamping occurs during Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali, where bulbs are most in demand by decorators. They sell these low-quality bulbs to distributors at cheap rates.
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These bulbs are highly dangerous as they can blow up and sometimes even catch fire."
Authorities produced Ghoshalia in Borivli court yesterday where he was remanded to two days of police custody.
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The police are now investigating the matter further and trying to ascertain the number of bulbs sold in the city.