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The New Link Road residents Forum succeeded in another covert operation, thanks to crucial information provided by trusted informers, in nabbing Shankar, the tadipaar kingpin of the milk adulteration racket:

News papers reported it: Times of India and Afternoon dispatch 13th May 2011 article explains it all:

Milk adulteration gang caught as alert residents call cops
Nitasha Natu TNN

Mumbai: Continuing their fight against milk adulteration in the neighbourhood, the New Link Road Residents Forum of Dahisar helped the police nab the kingpin of the racket early on Thursday.
Externed from the city limits in 2010 for two years, the accused — Kumar Shankar — brazenly violated the order and carried out his activities in the Borivli-Dahisar belt. The residents’ forum tailed him for nearly a fortnight, before formulating a plan to catch him red-handed.

On two occasions last year, the residents’ forum had helped the police and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to crack down on milk adulteration in the northern suburbs.
“After receiving several complaints from locals last year, we got in touch with the FDA and shortlisted five places in the Borivli-Dahisar belt where milk adulteration was carried out. Those involved in the racket retain about 20 percent milk in a packet, fill the rest with water, and reseal the packet,” said Harish Pande of the residents’ forum.
In March 2010, Shankar and his associates were arrested and a large quantity of materials used for adulterating milk was recovered. “After Shankar was externed on March 28, the number of adulteration complaints went down. But in early 2011, a fresh crop of complaints poured in from locals. Members of the forum kept a night vigil and were stunned to find Shankar back,” Pande added.
The residents’ forum then got in touch with the zonal DCP on April 26. He advised them to gather concrete information. “We kept a watch on Shankar’s movements for a fortnight and learnt that he operated between 4 am and 5 am. We discussed the matter with the Borivli police who planned a raid at Shimpoli village. We told the cops to be dressed in civil clothes and to travel in our car instead of the police van to avoid alerting Shankar,” a forum member said.
Eight members of the residents’ forum participated in the raid. The police team swooped down on Shankar as soon as he turned up. Senior officials told TOI that they have detained Shankar and are looking for his aides.

Milk adulteration kingpin nabbed

Friday, May 13, 2011
By Kunal Chonkar
Had political connections which shielded him from police

Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Bhagwan Chate, SPI from Borivli police station along with members of New Link Road Resident’s Forum (NLRRF) conducted raids across several locations in Borivli and busted another milk adulteration racket, and arrested its kingpin, Kumar Shankarayya, on Thursday.
According to the police sources, “The members of the NLRRF had been tracking the gang’s movements for the past two weeks. After tracing the gang’s hideouts, they passed on the vital information and assisted us in conducting the raids, which were carried out in plain clothes.”

Prima facie investigation revealed that Shankarayya, the gang leader, was previously detained and charged for similar offences. “He was tadipaar (externed) for two years. A sudden rise in the number of complaints in the quality of led to suspicion that Shankarayya was back in business,” added Harish Pandey, an NLRFF member.

According to the cops, the gang would start at around 4 am by collecting milk bags from milk vans, puncture them and fill them with tap water or caustic powder mixture. “They had around 200 delivery boys who would drop these bags at residential and commercial complexes in the area. They would deliver milk after 6 am, making it look as if the bags were just collected and delivered,” informed a police officer.

The team’s biggest success was the arrest of Shankarayya, who had been heading the gang for months. “He had a unique way of resealing the adulterated milk packets. The bags were cut open along the border and around 20 per cent of milk was removed. Later, chilled water was added to the bag to prevent the remaining milk from curdling. All the renowned brands such as Govardhan, Mahananda, Aarey and Gokul, were their prime targets,” added an official.

Shankarayya’s arrest has propelled the police into overdrive, as they fear that other gang members could be active in different parts of the suburbs. All the arrested accuseds have been booked under Sections 272, 273, 420 and 34 of the IPC, and Sections 7 and 16 of the Food and Drug Act. They have been been remanded to police custody till Tuesday and will be presented in the court on the same day.

Shankarayya’s political shield
According to senior officer from the Borivli police, “Shankarayya was earlier arrested by the then DCP Sanjay Banerjee. He was charged, trialed and was externed for two years. However, after finishing his term, he immediately filed an affidavit against Banerjee in the High Court.” According to the sources, Shankarayya has political connections, which would prevent the cops from taking action against him.