Adulterated paneer sold to Delhi-NCR eateries & vendors over six months; racket busted in Noida
A blue chemical compound — still unidentified — was then added to curdle the mixture, giving it a paneer-like consistency. Once cooled and strained through a cloth, it resembled blocks of real paneer, the cops said
he adulterated paneer was sold to street vendors and small eateries in Delhi and Noida, priced between Rs 180 and Rs 220 per kilogram, while the actual price is nearly double (AI generated image)
Late on Friday night, a Mahindra pickup truck driving through Noida’s Sector 63 caught the attention of local police. Acting on a tip-off that the truck was carrying 14 quintals of adulterated paneer, a police team intercepted the vehicle. What they found inside unraveled an alleged interstate racket that had, for at least six months, been quietly pumping adulterated paneer into Delhi-NCR’s food markets.
The truck driver, Gulfam — a 32-year-old from Aligarh’s Shajapur village — was taken in for questioning. By morning, he led the police to a plant in Sahajpura village in the district, where the adulterated paneer was being produced. Here, the police arrested three more men: 36-year-old Guddu alias Rish, who was running the plant, and Ikhlaq (30) and Naved (20), who were the distributors.
All four arrested men belong to the same region in Aligarh, said officers.
According to police, the racket has been operating for the last six months. The adulterated paneer was sold to street vendors and small eateries in Delhi and Noida, priced between Rs 180 and Rs 220 per kilogram, while the actual price is nearly double.
Police said that the process of making the adulterated cottage cheese is extremely methodical. At the plant, large sacks of starch-heavy agricultural beans — labelled as “Red Bull Sortex Clean” — were soaked in water and boiled. Chemical whiteners and poster colours were added to mimic the characteristic milk-like colour and texture. A blue chemical compound — still unidentified — was then added to curdle the mixture, giving it a paneer-like consistency. Once cooled and strained through a cloth, it resembled blocks of real paneer.
Another batch was found, which was made using milk powder instead of beans mixed with water or a liquid referred to as “saprota.” Palmolin oil, commonly used in industrial food processing, was then stirred into the mix, giving it a creamy appearance. Again, chemicals were added to solidify it into blocks.
A case has been registered at Sector 63 police station under sections 274, 275, and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. More arrests are likely, said police. Officers said that the process is ongoing to trace vendors and buyers linked to the operation.
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Food safety officers, who were brought in following the arrests, called the ingredients a serious health hazard. “Palm oil and poster colour are not just adulterants — they are harmful to human health,” said one official, adding that samples of the seized paneer had been sent for lab analysis. Legal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act is expected once the lab reports are in.
“The accused prepared adulterated paneer from the recovered material and sold it as real paneer by deceiving shopkeepers in the NCR,” the police said in a statement.
Adulterated paneer can sometimes be detected using iodine tincture. When dropped on real paneer, there’s no change. But when dropped on adulterated paneer made with starch, the iodine turns black.
Videos from the police operation show officers unwrapping the adulterated paneer from its cloth packaging. The plant — located inside a nondescript building in Sahajpur — was stocked with sacks of powder, drums of oil, and a machine that processed the mixture into cheese-like blocks.
Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh.
Professional Profile
Education:
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.
Core Beats:
Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime.
Specialization:
She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions.
Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025)
Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context:
1. Politics:
“On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections.
“Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding.
2. Longforms
“Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud…
“How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it.
3. Crime and Justice:
“He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh.
“Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases.
4. Policy Impact
“At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters.
Signature Style
Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives.
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