Enforcement Branch (EB) of the city police has initiated a probe into the adulteration of edible oils.
Sources said the probe has been initiated as it was found that members of a racket who were arrested by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) few days ago had managed to spread their tentacles to other parts of the city as well. The CID had arrested the accused from different parts of Howrah after investigation revealed that they had managed to gain the confidence of some traders in the city to sell adulterated edible oil.
Different edible oil companies had lodged complaints with the local police after finding that adulterated oil was being sold in containers bearing their labels. CID had taken up the probe as reports revealed that the adulterated oil had affected hundreds of people and had subsequently arrested the accused. Now, the city police too have received information that the same gang had worked for a few months in the city and its adjoining districts. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused used to mix harmful chemicals and colours with edible oil. They used to do so in order to increase the volume of the oil and sold it in branded containers. They used to pack the adulterated oil in such a manner that hardly anyone could understand that it was a duplicate. The EB officers will conduct raids at different markets as the accused have already managed to distribute their tampered goods in some parts of the city. Sources said that the EB officers have come to know about the markets where the miscreants had sold the adulterated oil.
Investigation revealed that this racket had been in the business of selling adulterated edible oil for the past two or three years. The police are also probing whether they used to send the tampered oil to any of the neighbouring states. After various raids, the police will also get in touch with their counterparts in those states.