Nagpur: Acting on a tip-off, a flying squad from the Nagpur District Agriculture Department raided an unlicensed factory producing counterfeit bio-products, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides at Lava village, located about 25 km from Nagpur on Khadgaon Road. The unit, operating under the name NJP Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., was allegedly run by Paresh Vijay Khandait (32) in a warehouse owned by Prashant Vithobaji Borkar.
During the raid, officials found large-scale illegal production and packaging of fertilizers and pesticides under brand names such as Neem Power, Bhushakti, Black Gold, Vardan Gold, Agromax Gold, and Silver Shine—none of which had government approval. The operation was in full swing, with bags being printed and filled, and liquid formulations being packaged without licenses.
Authorities seized 15 tonnes of chemical fertilizers, 2 tonnes of liquid bio-products and pesticides, along with empty bottles, sacks, packing machines, and raw materials—altogether valued at more than ₹52.61 lakh. Samples were collected and sent to the fertilizer testing laboratory for analysis.
The raid was carried out under the guidance of Ashok Kirnali (Director, Inputs & Quality Control), Umesh Ghatge (Divisional Joint Director of Agriculture), Pravin Deshmukh (Chief Quality Control Officer), and Ravindra Manohare (District Superintendent Agriculture Officer). The operation was jointly led by Reena Dongre (Taluka Quality Control Inspector) and Markand Khandait (District Quality Control Inspector), with the support of other agriculture and police officials.
Police have booked Paresh Vijay Khandait under multiple provisions of the Fertilizer Control Order, 1985 (Sections 7, 19, 28, 35) and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (Sections 3(2)(a), 3(2), 3(2)(d)) for manufacturing and packaging fertilizers without a license, producing substandard products, making false or misleading claims on labels, and failing to maintain mandatory production and stock records. The case has been registered at Wadi Police Station, and further investigation is underway.