Reliance Consumer Products director named in FIR after Maharashtra FDA crackdown
State food safety inspectors seized expired stock in Thane and Pune, uncovering a network diverting rejected food back onto shop shelves.
Police in Thane have registered a criminal case against a whole-time director of Reliance Consumer Products, V Subramaniam, and nine others following a state-wide crackdown by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration into the illegal diversion and resale of expired food.
The FIR was registered at the Shanti Nagar police station under provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The action followed coordinated raids on 14 and 15 October led by the Maharashtra FDA across Thane and Pune districts, targeting warehouses, disposal yards, and retail outlets.
Who is named in the FIR
The police complaint names executive leadership, warehouse managers, disposal agency operators, and local suppliers across the supply chain:
| Person named | Designation | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| V Subramaniam | Whole-time Director | Reliance Consumer Products Ltd |
| Ashok Kumar Singh | Official | Reliance Consumer Products Ltd |
| Vijay Bhikaji Kharmale | Nominee | Reliance Retail Ltd |
| Nilesh Ramdasrao Deshmukh | Warehouse Manager | Reliance Retail Ltd |
| Arbinder Singh Dhinsa | Whole-time Director | Blinkit Commerce Pvt. Ltd |
| Deepak Singh | Official | Blinkit Commerce Pvt. Ltd |
| Abid Shaikh | Official | Zomato Hyperpure Pvt. Ltd |
| Babar Miya Ahmed Siddiqui | Operator | M/s B K Dispose |
| Gulzar Abdul Khan | Supplier | Chavindra, Bhiwandi |
| Abdul Mobin Khan | Retailer | Discount Store, Bhiwandi |
How the diversion network worked
State regulators found that food products marked for destruction by corporate warehouses were being siphoned off through disposal contractors, brokers, and unlicensed yards instead of being safely destroyed.
Disposal agencies allegedly issued fraudulent certificates claiming the stock had been incinerated or discarded without verifying actual destruction. Discrepancies were uncovered in transport logs, including mismatched consignor-consignee entries and missing weight receipts. Investigators also found that records listed shipments to an entity named "Pan India Grocery Dump" in Bengaluru, which preliminary checks indicated does not exist.
At unlicensed yards in Bhiwandi, workers sorted through damaged consignments, separating items that appeared undamaged to sell to local suppliers. FDA officers later discovered expired and leaking packages displayed for sale at an unlicensed discount store in Bhiwandi's Gulzar Nagar area without purchase bills or inward registers.
Seizures and regulatory action
| Location | Facility type | Key findings |
|---|---|---|
| Wadpe, Thane | Reliance Consumer warehouse | 4,659 kg expired food; 1,414 kg damaged stock |
| Usatane, Thane | Zomato Hyperpure facility | Expired and leaking stock with rodent damage |
| Khoni, Bhiwandi | BK Dispose yard | 17,382 kg unsorted expired corporate stock |
| Gulzar Nagar, Bhiwandi | Unlicensed discount store | 18 types of expired and damaged goods on sale |
Following regulatory hearings on 15 October, state authorities suspended five food safety licences associated with facilities operated by Reliance Consumer Products, Reliance Retail, Zomato Hyperpure, and Blinkit. Operations were ordered to halt immediately at four unlicensed premises.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total property value linked to case in FIR | Rs 33.71 crore | Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration |
| Direct physical stock seized at primary locations | Rs 48.09 lakh | Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration |
| Stock seized at BK Dispose Khoni yard | 17,382 kg valued at Rs 2.40 crore | Shanti Nagar police station FIR |
| Stock found at Reliance Consumer Wadpe warehouse | 6,073 kg valued at Rs 4.92 lakh | Shanti Nagar police station FIR |
| Licences suspended | 5 food safety licences | Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| V Subramaniam | Whole-time Director of Reliance Consumer Products Ltd, named in the FIR. |
| Bhiwandi | Location in Thane district where major sorting yards and shops were raided. |
| Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration | State enforcement agency that conducted raids and filed the police complaint. |
| Reliance Consumer Products Ltd | FMCG arm of Reliance whose officials were booked under food safety laws. |
