Times News NetworkKanpur: Police arrested the absconding accused Nishant Mittal from Meerut in connection with an alleged factory manufacturing counterfeit branded cement in Ispat Nagar, Panki, here. A court later granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said Nishant’s father, Sunil Kumar Mittal, is also an accused and remains absconding. Factory clerk Rahul had been arrested earlier.The factory was raided following a complaint lodged by Mumtazul Haq, senior sales manager of a prominent cement brand. Police recovered more than 1,000 filled bags, over 3,000 empty bags and a large quantity of loose counterfeit cement before sealing the premises.Police said Nishant, an MCom, owns Tridev Enterprises, which is a distributor of prominent cement brands. The Police Commissioner said Sunil had been involved in the counterfeit cement racket for 15 years and Nishant for 10 years.According to the police, Nishant bought damaged cement at auctions for Rs 100 a bag and sold it to brothers Neeraj and Dheeraj Gupta, earning Rs 15 to Rs 20 on each bag. The brothers allegedly adulterated and repackaged the cement at the Ispat Nagar warehouse before selling it at the price of new cement.Neeraj and Dheeraj owned the factory and had been branded cement companies’ distributors for three years. Counterfeit cement was allegedly manufactured under this cover and supplied to several cities, the police said.During questioning, Nishant allegedly identified Delhi resident Pawan Goyal as a gang member. Panki police travelled to Delhi to arrest him, but he absconded before they arrived.The arrest followed the Police Commissioner’s inspection of Panki police station and the factory on Tuesday. He reprimanded inspector Dinesh Singh Bisht over the failure to arrest the accused and warned of action over negligence.Police alleged that counterfeit cement bags were used in several construction projects.
