Nagpur: Wathoda Police busted an illegal kharra manufacturing unit allegedly operating from a residential house in Roshanbag on Saturday night and arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly storing banned tobacco products and using them to prepare kharra.

The accused has been identified as Shoeb Alim Sheikh (23), a resident of Plot No. 39, Roshanbag, Kharbi Road.

According to police, the action was taken on the night of September 26 after officers received information during routine patrolling that banned pan masala and scented tobacco products were being stored at a house and mixed to prepare kharra.

During the raid, police seized banned tobacco and pan masala products of various brands, including Rajshree, Vimal, Vimal King, Rajnigandha, Musafir Pan Masala, Jatan, V-1 and KP scented tobacco. Police also recovered around 60 kg of kharra mixture and three electric mixer machinesallegedly being used for manufacturing the product.

The total value of the seized material has been estimated at ₹2,00,252.

Following a complaint lodged by Food Safety Officer Tatya Lokhande, Wathoda Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Food Safety and Standards Act. Sheikh was taken into custody for further investigation.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Police Commissioner Dr Vishwas Nangre Patil, Joint Commissioner Navinchandra Reddy, Additional Commissioner Vasant Pardeshi, DCP Nityanand Jha, ACP Rohit Owhal and Senior Police Inspector Pramod Pore. PSI Atul Pawar and the Wathoda police team carried out the raid.