Delhi: ₹2.4cr fake NCERT books seized, 2 held

Delhi Police arrested a father-son duo for a counterfeit textbook racket, seizing over 170,000 pirated NCERT books worth ₹2.4 crore.

In one of the largest crackdowns on academic piracy in recent years, Delhi Police have busted a counterfeit textbook racket involving pirated NCERT books worth over ₹2.4 crore. A father-son duo was arrested on Monday from a shop on Mandoli Road, from where police seized more than 170,000 pirated books.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Prashant Priya Gautam said the operation began after a tip-off was received on May 16. (Representational image)

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Prashant Priya Gautam said the operation began after a tip-off was received on May 16 regarding the sale of counterfeit educational materials at a shop in the MS Park police station area.

“The police, joined by officials from NCERT including assistant production officer Prakashveer Singh, conducted a raid on Anupam Sales, located in Ram Nagar on Mandoli Road,” Gautam said. “The raiding team discovered stacks of counterfeit NCERT textbooks, predominantly Class 12 social science books, bearing forged signatures and fake authentication marks to deceive buyers. The shop’s operators, Prashant Gupta (48) and his son Nishant Gupta (26), were taken into custody on the spot.”

A case under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act, 1957 was lodged at MS Park police station.

According to the DCP, interrogation revealed that the Guptas had been running the shop for decades, with Nishant joining the family business five years ago. “Driven by profit, the duo began sourcing pirated books from a warehouse in Hiranki near Alipur in north Delhi, and was selling them as legitimate educational material,” he said.

“Following the lead, a second raid was conducted at a property in Shiv Enclave, located in the Kashmiri Colony of the Hiranki area. The premises, rented by the accused, yielded approximately 160,000 additional pirated textbooks. These were all confirmed to be counterfeit by NCERT officials. The books were traced to one Arvind Kumar (35), a resident of Sonipat in Haryana and the owner of the property,” the DCP said.

The seized textbooks were found to closely mimic official NCERT editions in layout, price markings, and barcode design, clearly intended to mislead students, parents, and educational institutions.

“This illegal operation not only undermines copyright laws but also compromises the quality of education for thousands of students,” Gautam said.

“Investigations are ongoing to uncover the full scope of the operation. We are probing the supply chain, from illegal printing presses to distribution points. We are also examining whether systemic delays and shortages in NCERT’s official supply chain may have indirectly fostered the demand for pirated copies. The probe will extend to wholesale dealers, retailers, and educational institutions potentially involved—wittingly or otherwise—in the racket,” he said.