FIR names Reliance, Blinkit, Zomato staff after Rs 48 lakh seizure

Police have registered an FIR at Shanti Nagar police station in Thane against officials and employees linked to Reliance Consumer Products, Reliance Retail, Blinkit and Zomato Hyperpure following the seizure of expired and damaged food worth Rs 48,09,924. India Today, citing Press Trust of India, reported that the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration carried out the inspections across Thane and Pune districts on October 14 and 15.

The FDA’s preliminary findings allege that food marked for destruction instead passed through disposal agencies, unlicensed sorting premises and intermediaries before reaching consumers. The FIR also names disposal operators and local suppliers, and invokes provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. These are allegations under investigation, not findings of guilt.

Investigators trace alleged diversion from disposal to retail

FDA sources told PTI that the seized products included more than Rs 24 lakh in stock at a Bhiwandi disposal yard, around Rs 4.92 lakh at a Reliance Consumer Products warehouse in Vadpe and nearly Rs 7.81 lakh at Zomato Hyperpure’s Usatane facility.

According to a source quoted by PTI, expired, damaged and customer-rejected products were allegedly released for sale despite being designated for destruction. Disposal agencies allegedly supplied certificates and related paperwork recording destruction without adequately checking that it had taken place.

Officials also reported differences between quantities recorded in disposal documents and inconsistencies in sender and recipient details. At unlicensed yards in Bhiwandi, packets that looked saleable were allegedly separated from the stock and passed to brokers and suppliers.

Expired and leaking products were subsequently found on sale at a shop in Gulzar Nagar, Bhiwandi, according to the report. The outlet allegedly had neither a licence nor purchase bills.

Company personnel named; licences suspended

Those named include Reliance Consumer Products whole-time director V Subramaniam and Ashok Kumar Singh; Reliance Retail nominee Vijay Bhikaji Kharmale and warehouse manager Nilesh Ramdasrao Deshmukh; Blinkit Commerce director Arbinder Singh Dhinsa and Deepak Singh; and Abid Shaikh of Zomato Hyperpure.

The report also identifies Babar Miya Ahmed Siddiqui of B K Dispose, supplier Gulzar Abdul Khan, Chavindra of Bhiwandi and Abdul Mobin Khan of Discount Store in Bhiwandi. No responses from the named individuals or companies were included in the report.

Seven FDA teams comprising assistant commissioners and food safety officers conducted the coordinated checks. They catalogued and seized stock, took samples and statements, and barred the seized goods from being moved, sold or destroyed.

Following hearings on October 15, authorities suspended the licences of five establishments and halted operations at four unlicensed premises, an official told PTI.