Man held for manufacturing and distributing fake Castrol engine oil in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Commissioner’s Task Force, South Zone Team, along with Mirchowk Police, arrested a man for manufacturing and distributing counterfeit Castrol engine oil from a godown in Noor Khan Bazar.

The accused, identified as Shaik Qayyum (32), a resident of Feelkhana, Begum Bazar, Hyderabad, was allegedly producing fake Castrol engine oil and selling it at lower prices to local shops by illegally using the company’s labels and packaging.

According to the police, Qayyum had rented a godown in Noor Khan Bazar about five months ago. He sourced raw materials and began producing the duplicate oil, repackaging it in containers with forged Castrol labels, barcodes, caps, and boxes. He sold the product at ₹220 per litre, significantly lower than the market price of ₹425 for genuine Castrol engine oil.

A raid was conducted following a tip-off, leading to the seizure of 710 litres of duplicate engine oil, 340 empty boxes, 340 stickers, 340 caps, a barcode scanner, an iron box, one blue drum (50 litres), and six yellow barrels (30 litres each), among other materials. The seized goods are estimated to be worth ₹3 lakh.

Qayyum, who studied up to Class 7, previously worked as a tempo mechanic and later as a labourer at an automobile shop in Nampally. He later drove an auto-rickshaw but turned to counterfeiting due to financial difficulties.

The seized material and the accused were handed over to the Mirchowk Police Station. A case has been registered under sections 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act. Further investigation is underway.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of Inspector S. Raghavendra, with the support of Sub-Inspectors K. Narsimulu, M. Mahesh, G. Anjaneyulu, N. Naveen, and staff from the Task Force and Mirchowk Police.