Delhi police arrests man for printing pirated NCERT books

NEW DELHI: Delhi police have arrested a 38-year-old man for his alleged involvement in printing pirated National Council of Educational Research and Training(NCERT) books, police said Tuesday.

The accused, Manoj Jain, a resident of Shahdara, was arrested on Monday following a raid at his printing unit at Mela Ram Farms in outer Delhi’s Mandoli here on September 18, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said. According to police, Jain has been into the printing business for over eight years and started the unit in Mandoli in January 2020.

Also Read| Odisha Govt to provide free medical, engineering entrance coaching for SC, ST students

During the Covid-induced lockdown, he suffered heavy losses in his business, and to cover up the losses, he started printing pirated NCERT books since these books are in large circulation across the country, said the police.

The DCP said around 5,000 pirated books and printed material of NCERT valued at approximately Rs 35 lakh was recovered from the unit along with watermarks of NCERT and latest offset printing machines. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Copyright Act following the raid on September 18, police said, adding Jian had been absconding since then. The raid was conducted along with a vigilance officer and production officer of NCERT, New Delhi after a tip off, a PTI report said.

Also Read| UPTET Notification 2021 to be out today, Check application form filling date here

“These poor quality pirated books were being supplied in the market at cheaper rates, causing huge revenue loss to NCERT. The offset unit was publishing pirated NCERT books of class 6th to 12th of different subjects,” the DCP said, adding further investigation is underway.

Write to us at news@career360.com