Trader caught for using MNC’s brand name on salt packets

Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 21

A karyana distributor here has been nabbed for allegedly selling ordinary salt under the brand name of a multinational company. A joint team of health officials and police raided the distributer — Jai Laxmi Store — in Vijay Nagar.

Dstrict Health Officer Lakhbir Singh Bhagowalia said 114 packets of salt with packets similar to those used by Tata Salt were seized from the shop. He said the packets had the manufacturer’s address of Gujarat.

Officials of Tata Salt had filed a complaint with the police stating that some persons were selling fake products under Tata’s brand name. Senior police officials had constituted a team to verify the same.

“The company representatives, who went along with the team, claimed that the batch number used on the packets was fake,” said Bhagowalia. The team also found empty cans of a mustard oil brand — Laxmi — from the store. Laxmi brand has its business spread in a number of states of the country, said the official.

According to officials, the shop owner claimed to have procured the empty cans from a scrap dealer. The health team also sealed around 10 quintals of mustard oil lying in drums at the store. The team took a total of nine samples — two of salt and seven of oil.

The owner of the shop, Parveen Kumar, was later arrested. A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered at Sadar police station. Officials said a detailed investigation regarding the suppliers of the fake products would be carried out.