Jalaun (UP), Dec 1 (PTI) The district police, in collaboration with the agriculture department, raided a fertiliser store allegedly selling fake DAP fertiliser and arrested five people, officials said on Sunday.

Nearly 900 bags of counterfeited DAP fertiliser were also seized during the raid on the shop at Nadi village in the Kotwali police station area on Saturday, they said.

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Superintendent of Police Durgesh Kumar said a joint team comprising officials from agriculture department, local police and Special Operations Group (SOG) was formed to carry out the operation. District Agriculture Officer Gaurav Yadav headed the team, the SP said.

The raid was conducted after a tip-off about a counterfeit DAP manufacturing unit operating out of Nikhil Khad Bhandar, located in Nadi Village, police said, adding the joint team launched a raid on Saturday which continued until Sunday.

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"The accused had been packaging fake fertilizer branded as IFFCO DAP and distributing it not only in Jalaun but also to neighbouring districts and even Madhya Pradesh. Further investigation into the matter is underway," said SP Kumar.

During the raid, authorities recovered 224 bags of fake DAP from the shop, 616 such bags in a truck, and 57 bags in a pickup van, police said.

In addition, officials also recovered empty DAP bags, sewing machines, and other related equipment. The total value of the seized fertiliser and other items is estimated to be around Rs 14 lakh, police said.

The accused, identified as Aditya Rathore, Govind Tiwari, Dharmendra Gupta, Anurag Yagnik, and Vikas Chaturvedi, all residents of Jalaun district, were arrested for allegedly producing and selling counterfeit DAP fertiliser, police said.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the BNS and the Essential Commodities Act, police added.

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