Delhi man falls ill, three making adulterated protein powder at Noida unit arrested

The suspects were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy and a large quantity of the adulterated raw material used to make protein powder was recovered

Three people allegedly involved in manufacturing adulterated protein powder of two different brands at a factory in Noida’s Sector 63 were arrested late Monday night, after a Delhi-based man suffered health issues following the consumption of the protein powder, said senior police officers on Tuesday.

Based on the complaint, police traced the factory that was being operated in Block G of Sector 63. When the team raided the factory, it was found that two people were busy packing the powder in empty boxes. (HT Photo)

The suspects were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy at the Sector 63 police station, and a large quantity of the adulterated raw material used in making the protein powder was recovered from their possession.

The suspects have been identified as Sahil Yadav, 27, and Harsh Agarwal, 28, both residents of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, and Amit Chaubey, 30, a resident of Sahibabad in Ghaziabad, said police.

“On Monday, Atin Singhal, 29, a resident of Chandni Chowk in Delhi, approached Noida police and filed a complaint alleging that he had ordered a protein powder from an e-commerce company. Following the consumption of the powder, he suffered health issues related to the liver and skin,” said Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida.

“Based on the complaint, police traced the factory that was being operated in Block G of Sector 63. When the team raided the factory, it was found that two people were busy packing the powder in empty boxes,” said Avasthy.

Police said when suspects were asked to produce the food licence and documents to run the factory, they tried to mislead them. “Subsequently, the food department officials were called in , and it was found that the powder was adulterated,” said Avasthy.

During the investigation, it came to fore that Yadav worked at a factory involved in making protein powder in Haryana. “After learning the process of making the powder, he got the idea to make a spurious version of the powder at a low cost to earn more. His friend Agarwal joined him as a partner and opened a factory on December 1,” said Avdhesh Pratap Singh, station house officer, Sector 63.

“Later, they hired Chaubey as manager and started making the adulterated powder of two different brands. They used to sell a pack of 2.5 kilograms for around ₹8,500 by investing just ₹1,800 per pack.”

The suspect used to sell the protein powder with the help of two prominent e-commerce companies by marking it as a genuine product.

“Investigation is underway to ascertain the number of boxes they sold in the past 10 days. Singhal, who filed a police complaint, is informed to be stable,” said SHO Singh.

The suspects were booked under section 318(4) (cheating) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector 63 police station, and 33 boxes of adulterated protein powder, 2,050 small boxes of capsules, 5,500 empty boxes, printing and packing machines, and other spurious items used to manufacture the protein powder were recovered from their possession, said police.