Siliguri: The Siliguri police busted a duplicate shampoo manufacturing racket and arrested nine youths from Dangipara area of Ward 6. The accused—Md. Usman, Chand Babu, Sahel Khan, Rohit Gundul, Sahajan Khan, Md. Sameer, Biki Khan, Md. Sahil and Titu Khan—are all residents of Uttar Pradesh and had rented houses in Siliguri to run the operation.
Acting on a tip-off, plainclothes officers raided the house on Saturday. The suspects were caught red-handed while manufacturing counterfeit shampoo using packaging of reputed brands.
Initial interrogation revealed they arrived from Patna around 10 days ago. They were allegedly supplied raw materials by Jahangir Khan, also from Uttar Pradesh, in exchange for commissions. They had a plan to sell these products in remote villages. The Enforcement Department has taken over the case. The accused were produced in Siliguri court on Sunday. Further investigation is going on.