Animal-Feed Oil Sold As Cooking Oil In Vietnam Food Scam, Police Bust ₹26 Crore Racket
Authorities in Vietnam have issued a nationwide public health warning following the discovery of a massive counterfeit oil operation. On June 24, police in Hung Yen province raided Nhat Minh Food Production and an affiliated Import-Export Company, uncovering a years-long scheme involving the sale of animal-feed-grade oil repackaged and marketed as edible cooking oil.
According to VnExpress, the imported feed-grade vegetable oil was re-labelled under the "Ofood" brand and distributed across the country, reaching restaurants, industrial kitchens, street vendors, and even traditional sweet and snack shops.
"This fake cooking oil threatens public health," a representative from Vietnam's Department of Food Safety warned, quoted South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Animal-feed oil, typically unrefined and unfit for human consumption, can cause poisoning, toxin accumulation, and long-term health issues such as chronic diseases. Despite this, the syndicate allegedly sold thousands of tonnes over the past three years, raking in an estimated 8.2 trillion dong (approx Rs 26.8 crore), according to Vietnam Television.
Investigators found the group capitalised on the price differential between feed-grade and edible oil, selling the repackaged product at a 17 per cent premium. To avoid taxes, they exploited the 8 per cent value-added tax applied only to edible oils, as animal-feed oil is tax-exempt. The operation also falsely claimed the oil was enriched with Vitamin A, a claim that lab tests later disproved.
Authorities say the oil was moved through underground pipelines into containers labelled for human use, helping the syndicate mask the fraud. Over 900 tonnes of illegally imported oil were seized during the raid. Three suspects now face charges related to the production and sale of counterfeit food products, additives and smuggling, South China Morning Post reported.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘No police, no systems in place… who will compensate my loss': Lapses behind Puri's Rath Yatra stampede
Family members of those killed in the stampede that took place in Puri, where hundreds of thousands of devotees have gathered for the annual Rath Yatra festival, have raised questions about the lack of security personnel and arrangements at the site of the incident. Three people were killed and more than 50 were injured in the stampede early Sunday morning outside the Gundicha Temple. Among the three dead was 42-year-old Basanti Sahoo, a native of Khurda, who had come to Puri with her husband and children to attend the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. 'There was no system in place at all, even when the crowd swelled near the chariot after darshan started at around 4 am. While devotees were going from one side, a large crowd approached from the other, leading to chaos and jostling. We couldn't find any police personnel at the spot,' said Dillip Sahoo, Basanti's husband. Dillip, who lives in a slum in Bhubaneswar along with his daughter, son and other family members, performed Basanti's last rites at Swargadwara in Puri. The two other deceased were identified as Pravati Das (52) of Balipatna in Khurda, and Bhubaneswar native Premakanta Mohanty (78). 'My wife and others would have been saved had there been any arrangement for smooth arrival of ambulances to the spot. There was no police deployment and no volunteers despite there being utter chaos. Who will compensate my loss?' asked Pravati's husband Biswajit. According to those who witnessed the chaos, it went on for around 20 minutes while two vehicles entered the densely crowded area. Locals and other devotees were the first responders, pulling injured people from the crowd and taking them to nearby hospitals. 'Despite a large crowd forming overnight, darshan was closed early (at around midnight). Those who couldn't take darshan at night continued to wait near the chariots till morning. The crowd swelled suddenly as soon as the 'pahada bhanga' ritual started. This triggered the stampede,' said an eyewitness. Several others blamed a faulty barricading system for the chaos. As part of the Rath Yatra, all three chariots of the deities reached Gundicha Temple on Saturday, where the deities will stay till the Bahuda Yatra scheduled for July 5. On Friday, more than 200 devotees had fallen ill during the Rath Yatra due to overcrowding and humidity. The Odisha government has ordered an administrative probe into the matter to be conducted by a committee headed by Development Commissioner Anu Garg. Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinit Agrawal have been replaced. Two senior police officers have also been suspended for 'dereliction of duty'. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the 'negligence was unpardonable'. While expressing condolences, he also announced ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. 'Exemplary action will be taken against those responsible for the situation,' the Chief Minister said. A major administrative shake-up has also been initiated for the smooth conduct of the remaining rituals, including Bahuda Yatra and Suna Besha. The move is also seen as an attempt to restore the faith of the public in the system. Senior IAS officer Aravind Agrawal, who earlier served as Puri Collector, has been assigned to be in charge of overall supervision of the festival, while Additional Director General S K Priyadarshi, an experienced hand in Rath Yatra crowd management, has been made in-charge of general police arrangement. The BJP government in Odisha, which had said it would make this year's yatra 'incident-free and memorable', has also been targeted by the Opposition. Odisha's Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik hit out at the BJP-led government, saying, 'Today's stampede, occurring just a day after the abysmal failure of crowd management during the Rath Yatra that left hundreds injured, exposes the government's glaring incompetence in ensuring a peaceful festival for devotees.' Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also expressed concern over the incident. 'This tragedy is a serious warning — for such large events, security arrangements and crowd management preparations must be taken seriously and thoroughly reviewed. Protecting lives is paramount, and no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable,' he said in a post on X. Devotees continued to throng Puri on Sunday to get a glimpse of the deities taken to Gundicha Temple from the chariots in a ceremonial procession.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
3 killed, 50 hurt in Puri Rath Yatra stampede
Puri: Atleast three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha's Puri on Sunday during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said. The incident took place around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple, they said. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, and the condition of six people is stated to be critical. The Gundicha Temple, located around 3km from the 12th century shrine, is the aunt's house of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra. During Rath Yatra, the deities visit their aunt's home, stay there for seven days, and then return to their main abode — the Jagannath Temple. According to police, chaos ensued after two trucks carrying materials for rituals reportedly entered the crowded spot near the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities. The deities were seated on the chariots when the stampede took place. "Thousands of devotees had assembled outside the temple since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deities when the 'Pahuda' (cloth) covering the front portion of the chariots was to be removed, as part of the rituals, the officials said. The deceased were identified as Basanti Sahu (36) from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das (42) from Balipatna. Their bodies have been handed over to family members, and the cremation will take place at 'Swargadwar' in Puri. In a punitive measure following the stampede, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi ordered the transfer of District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vineet Agrawal. Majhi also announced the suspension of two police officers – DCP Bishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi – an official release said. He ordered an administrative inquiry into the matter to be carried out under the supervision of the development commissioner. In another order, senior bureaucrat Saswata Mishra was appointed principal secretary to the CM in addition to his current responsibilities. The 1996-batch IAS officer is presently posted as principal secretary in finance department with additional charge of chairman, IDCO. The Odisha government will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, the release added. Another notification issued by the General Administration Department stated that senior bureaucrat Aravind Agarwal has been appointed as in-charge of the overall supervision of Rath Yatra. Earlier in a post on X, Majhi sought forgiveness from devotees of Lord Jagannath for the stampede and tendered an apology on behalf of his government for the incident.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Puri Rath Yatra stampede kills 3 as crowd swells to 20k outside temple
Bhubaneswar: A pre-dawn stampede during Rath Yatra festivities in Odisha's temple town Puri left three devotees dead and dozens injured Sunday as over 20,000 people crowded into a space meant for less than a third of that number. The dead were identified as Premakanta Mohanty, 78, a retired state govt employee from Bhubaneswar; homemaker Basanti Sahu, 42, from Khurda; and Prabhati Das, 52, of Balianta in Bhubaneswar. They had come with families for "darshan" of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra atop chariots before the sibling deities entered Gundicha temple on the third day of the annual festival. The chariots were parked outside the temple, drawing massive crowds that overwhelmed barriers. Eyewitnesses attributed the chaos to poor planning and inadequate crowd control measures. They said the surge began as two trucks carrying wooden ladders for the chariots entered the dense crowd around 4am. "The narrow congregation site, combined with insufficient police presence and scattered palm log ladders near the chariots, resulted in the stampede," eyewitness Chinmay Patra said. CM Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a probe led by development commissioner Anu Garg and announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh for each victim's family. He called the lapses "unforgivable" and transferred Puri district collector S S Swain and SP Vinit Agrawal. DCP-ranked officer V P Pati and commandant Ajay Kumar Padhi were suspended for negligence. Cops, govt under fire for crowd-control 'fiasco' Bhubaneswar: Sunday's stampede at Puri in BJP-governed Odisha spotlighted failure of police's crowd control measures. Opposition BJD and Congress attributed the tragedy to govt's incompetence and "favour" shown to BJP workers to gather around the chariots. While there was a delay on Friday due to a crowd surge, the chariot-pulling ceremony eventually went off smoothly that day and Saturday with over 12 lakh devotees. But alleged mismanagement of a smaller gathering of 5,000-6,000 near Gundicha Temple led to the stampede Sunday. "The location in front of Gundicha Temple can accommodate a maximum of 5,000-6,000 devotees. Stampedes can occur when chariots are moving. However, tragedy struck before stationary chariots, a first in history," said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple. Police had announced deployment of 275 AI-enabled cameras and drones for real-time crowd monitoring as part of the security and traffic measures. At least two IPS officers were assigned to oversee 5 companies of RAF, 6 SP-rank officers, 7 ASPs, 24 DSPs, 42 inspectors, 189 SIs/ASIs, 12 havildars, 110 home guards and 52 platoons of state police. Despite this, security experts and devotees criticised police for failing to anticipate the massive weekend crowd. " I suspect the personnel lowered their guard after Friday and Saturday, and did not take any preemptive measure for the remaining days of the festival," said Sahadeb Mohanty, a retired DSP. Leader of opposition and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik posted on X, "While I refrain from accusing govt of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness undeniably contributed to this tragedy." State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das claimed the entire arrangement was "VVIP and BJP worker-centric". Govt pushed back against the allegations, pointing out that action had been taken against negligent officers and more would follow after ongoing inquiries."Senior police officers are on the spot to ensure comprehensive crowd control measures," law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. Incident caused by 'abysmal failure' of crowd mgmt: Naveen Prabhati, one of the victims, had travelled in a group of seven. Her mother Binodini Panda said: 'Thousands pushed through, walking over people. Some people lifted me and some others, but my daughter remained trapped. By the time we managed to reach her, she was gone.' According to Basanti's husband Dilip Kumar Sahu, the crowd surged at dawn. 'People started falling, including us. We were trampled. My wife got trapped. We pulled her out and waited for nearly an hour for an ambulance. She was declared dead at the hospital.' Opposition politicians blamed BJP-led govt for security failures. Former CM Naveen Patnaik of BJD called it an 'abysmal failure' of crowd management. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said 'no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable'. Undeterred, thousands of devotees continued gathering for darshan of the deities through the day. 'We are saddened by the tragedy but not scared. Our faith is stronger than our fear,' said Saudamini Sarangi, 65, from Cuttack. 'There was chaos for about an hour but then normalcy returned quickly. We offered prayers smoothly afterward,' said Sovan Pattnaik of Bhubaneswar. Police deployed reinforcements, set up barricades and implemented multiple queue systems. 'We appealed to people not to spread rumours. Many were taking photos in the crowd, adding to the challenge,' said DGP YB Khurania. The festival continues through July 8.
