Bareilly (UP), Apr 11 (PTI) Counterfeit cosmetic and allopathic products worth around Rs 1.20 crore in Bareilly on Friday and arrested a man accused of forging expiry dates and applying fake stickers to expired goods before selling them in the market, police said.

The arrest and seizure were made during a raid conducted by the Baradari police based on intelligence inputs provided by the Bareilly unit of the Senior Superintendent of Police.

Baradari SHO Dhananjay Kumar Pandey said the arrested individual was identified as Karan Sahni, a 40-year-old resident of Sitapur who had been living in Bareilly.

Acting on the intelligence, police detained Sahni while he was allegedly attempting to sell altered cosmetic and pharmaceutical products in the Bhraspati market.

Following his arrest, Sahni led the police to his rented warehouse in Gandhi Nagar. From there, officers recovered a large stockpile of counterfeit goods, including 320 cardboard cartons and 38 plastic bags filled with various expired products from multiple companies, the police said.

Additionally, police found a substantial quantity of printed labels, brand stickers, forged expiry date stamps, thinner bottles, five bundles of packaging film, and a heat-sealing machine. The estimated value of the seized materials is approximately Rs 1.20 crore, they said.

SHO Pandey stated that Sahni had been modifying expired products by changing the expiry dates and applying new, forged labels to resell them.

Legal proceedings have been initiated against him under sections 318(4), 338, and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections 103 and 104 of the Trademark Act, 1999, and sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

In connection with the allopathic products found at the site, the Drug Inspector of Bareilly was called to inspect the goods. Authorities discovered items including Tetmosol medicated soap and Prega News pregnancy test kits in large quantities. As a result, additional charges have been filed under sections 18(C)/27 and 18(A)/28 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The accused has been remanded to judicial custody. PTI COR KIS NB NB