Shahjahanpur – A joint team operation Food Safety along with district administration team busted an illegal manufacturing unit allegedly producing counterfeit gram flour (besan) and pulses under the reputed ‘Rajdhani’ brand in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur, officials said on Wednesday.

The action followed a complaint file by an authorised representative of Delhi-based Rajdhani Flour Mills Ltd., alleging that Araw Industries, located in the Jiyakhel area under Kotwali police station limits, was manufacturing and marketing counterfeit food products using packaging deceptively similar to the company’s registered trademark.

During the raid, officials seized counterfeit food products, raw material, packaging material and machinery collectively valued at approximately Rs 32.87 lakh. The recovered stock comprised around 550 sacks of besan, 540 sacks of masoor dal, 14 sacks of matar dal, nearly 200 empty sacks bearing the Rajdhani brand, large quantities of raw pulses, packing machines and other equipment allegedly used in the manufacturing and packaging process.

According to the complainant, the counterfeit products were being passed off as genuine Rajdhani products in the market, allegedly misleading consumers while causing financial losses and reputational damage to the company through trademark infringement.

City Circle Officer Devvrat Bajpai said the coordinated operation was carried out after the allegations were verified. Food safety officials collected samples of the seized products and sent them to a laboratory for quality analysis.

Police have registered an FIR against Anuradha Agrawal, proprietor of Araw Industries, under relevant provisions of the Trade Marks Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further action under the Food Safety and Standards Act and other applicable laws will be initiated on the basis of the laboratory findings, officials said.

Bajpai said scientific examination of the seized samples, scrutiny of documentary evidence and forensic analysis were part of the ongoing investigation to ascertain the scale of the alleged counterfeit operation and identify other persons involved.

Officials said preliminary findings suggested that the unit had been operating for a considerable period, although the exact duration of its operations and the volume of counterfeit products already supplied to the market were yet to be established.

The authorities said the operation formed part of efforts to curb food adulteration, prevent trademark infringement and safeguard consumers from counterfeit food products being circulated in the market.