Fake Mysore Sandal soap racket cost them Rs 600 crore, suspects KSDL

According to reports, a few days ago, Karnataka Industries Minister M B Patil, who is also the KSDL chairman, received an anonymous message about fake Mysore Sandal soaps being sold in Hyderabad. Thereafter, the staff of the firm’s authorised sales office in Secunderabad bought fake products worth Rs 5 lakh and got them tested. However, there was no proper information about the manufacturers.

Before the Sankranti festival, the KSDL staff placed an order for soaps worth Rs 25 lakh and on the pretext of picking up the consignment reached the unit from where the fake soaps were being produced.

A KSDL source said the manufacturers primarily targeted religious and tourist places during fairs and festivals. “Usually, people don’t look at the genuineness of a brand in these places. We have found that their annual turnover was about Rs 60 crore and they have been doing it for nearly a decade,” said the source.

Asked why retailers or distributors bought the fake products, a KSDL official said, “The fake manufacturers gave high commission to retailers. For example, the price of a 75 gram Mysore Sandal soap is Rs 41 and the retailer gets a negligible profit. Here, these people sold it at Rs 22 and retailers made huge profits. Likewise, a 450 gram three-soap box costs Rs 200 and retailers get a margin of Rs 10 but these people supplied fake products and provided them with a Rs 50-profit margin.

“We have checked the fake soaps in our laboratory and found that they carry heavy metals that can also cause cancer. One can identify these fake soap boxes easily as they did not have any hologram.”

Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge in a press conference on Wednesday alleged that Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain had links with Chittapur BJP leader Manikant Rathod and party office bearer Vittal Nayak, son of former MLA Valmiki Nayak. The minister also showed photographs of the duo with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh.

However, Manikant Rathod later said that Mahendra Jain’s son Mahaveer Jain is his friend and the one Kharge referred to is the son of Babulal Jain. Vittal Nayak also said his name was being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy by the minister with an intention to malign his image.

Last year in March, then KSDL chairman and former BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa’s son Prashanth was caught ‘collecting bribes for clearing contracts for the supply of raw materials to the KSDL’. The raid on Prashanth’s residence and office resulted in the seizure of Rs 8.20 crore unaccounted cash.

About Mysore Sandal soap

With a rich history of more than 100 years, Mysore Sandal soap is one of India’s most prominent brands with a presence in nearly 12 countries.

The soap is exported to the USA, UAE, United Kingdom and Singapore, among others.

The erstwhile ruler of Mysuru, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, and then diwan Sir M Visvesvaraya can be credited for launching the Mysore Sandal soap and sandal oil. It was an attempt to propel Mysuru (then Mysore) state on the global map. Initially, they called the product the ‘fragrance ambassador of India’.

According to the KSDL, a foreign guest presented a gift pack of soaps made of sandalwood oil to Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, who was impressed by the products, in 1918. The latter promptly sent S G Shastri, an industrial chemist, to London for advanced training in soap and perfumery technology. Upon his return, the Mysore Sandal soap was launched.