Nagpur Rural Police seize Rs 6.26 crore of banned nylon manja at shut factory in Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Nagpur Rural Police have struck at the source of the banned nylon manja trade, which cuts people's throats and kills birds. They raided a closed company, Marmik Industries, in an industrial area of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and seized banned nylon manja, advanced machines and raw material worth Rs 6.26 crore. The action has caused alarm in the production and supply network.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had taken a stern view of fatal accidents caused by nylon manja and the danger to birds. It had asked Nagpur Rural Police what action had been taken so far against the banned manja and ordered an affidavit to be filed by October 25. Police then intensified their investigation and raided the place where the dangerous manja was being made.

The case began at the VRL Logistics premises at Gondkhairi in Kalmeshwar tehsil, where police raided on information that banned nylon manja was being transported in a container. Manja worth Rs 14.40 lakh and a container worth Rs 20 lakh, in all Rs 34.40 lakh of goods, were seized. The driver bringing the manja to Nagpur, Chhavinath Mohan Nishad, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested. On the basis of questioning and receipts found, police went to Gujarat, but the address given there turned out to be false. After analysing technical evidence, the investigation turned towards the industrial area of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which yielded the lead to the manja's production.

The company, Marmik Industries, was found closed. Police sought the court's permission to search it. On approval, the company's lock was opened on October 21 in coordination with the local administration. The search revealed a huge stock of banned manja and the machines used to make it. Police seized more than 88,000 spools, finished nylon manja worth Rs 5,09,03,100, and advanced machines, raw material, powder and packing material worth about Rs 95 lakh. The total seizure exceeds Rs 6.26 crore.

The investigation found that dangerous nylon manja was being made at the factory under names such as Wolfer, Stinger, Boyfriend, Danger Man, Wolfer Sinner, Black Spider, Wolfer Super, Muscle Man, Wolfer Stinger and Unicef. It has also emerged that the finished manja was being sent to various states across the country.

With goods worth crores seized, the key questions now are who is behind the trade, who received the manja supplied across the country, and who else is involved in the chain of production, packing and transport. The investigation so far has found that the factory regularly supplied nylon manja to Nagpur. The factory had been sealed earlier as well when nylon manja was recovered, but was restarted on a court order.

People lose their lives to nylon manja every year, and thousands of birds also die. The action at the production site is a major blow to the smuggling network. It remains to be seen how far police can dismantle the whole network. The action was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent Harsh Poddar and Additional Superintendent Anil Maske.