Three held for illegally stocking 5,000 sanitiser bottles worth Rs 2.5 lakh

Three people were arrested from Mahim by the Mumbai crime branch on Saturday for illegally stocking 5,000 bottles of sanitisers of 100 ml each, total worth Rs 2.5

Three people were arrested from Mahim by the Mumbai crime branch on Saturday for illegally stocking 5,000 bottles of sanitisers of 100 ml each, total worth Rs 2.5 lakh, and selling them at a higher price.

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The accused, Vraj Gaurang Dhariya, 20; Jainam Haresh Dedhiya, 21; both are college students and live in Dinathwadi area in Mahim, while the third accused, Neeraj Rajnikant Vyas, 49, is a businessman and a resident of Mira Road (East). They were arrested under charges of Essential Commodities Act. They were selling the sanitisers for a minimum price of Rs 65 per bottle, said an officer of unit 6 of the crime branch.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the state government has declared masks and sanitisers as essential products and had capped the price of a 100 ml sanitiser bottle at Rs 50.

Following a tip-off, a police team raided a house in Dinathwadi area of Mahim and seized 5,000 bottles of 100 ml each. They arrested Dahriya and Dedhiya. “Upon questioning, the duo told us that Vyas is the main accused who bought the sanitisers from a medical store in Juhu and stored them at Dedhiya’s residence in Mahim. He then asked the duo to sell them at the minimum price of Rs 65 or higher as per the demand,” said Akbar Pathan, deputy commissioner of police, crime branch.

The accused did not have licence to buy or sell such products. “They were arrested under the charges for Essential Commodities Act. They were produced in court and remanded in police custody till March 31,” added the officer.