Pune: Action Against Fake Puma Merchandise Sells in Pune: Shopkeeper Arrested Under Copyright Act

Pune: Recently, a fraudulent operation involving the sale of counterfeit Puma clothing has been exposed in Pune. The Hadapsar police, acting on a complaint filed by Yogesh Dashrath More, a copyright field officer representing RNA Technology and IP Attorneys Company, conducted a raid on the Max cloth shop in Budruk on Saturday, seizing fake Puma merchandise worth Rs 2 lakh.

The accused, identified as Asif Popat Tamboli (26), a resident of Mahadev Nagar, Manjri Budruk, Pune, has been charged under sections 51 and 53 of the Copyright Act. The complainant revealed that the shopkeeper was selling clothes by exploiting the official logo and name of Puma, a renowned brand. The police, upon learning of this fraudulent activity, swiftly moved to take action.

A total of 55 shorts and 110 T-shirts, all bearing the counterfeit Puma branding, were confiscated during the raid. The seized merchandise is estimated to be worth Rs. 2,12,750. Asif Tamboli, the proprietor of the Max cloth shop, now faces legal consequences under the Copyright Act.

The Hadapsar police, led by Assistant Police Inspector Arjun Kadale and comprising Police Sub-Inspector Avinash Shinde and officers Bhapkar, Patole, Sonwane, Dudhaal, and Gorkhe, carried out the operation under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Ritesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Ramnath Pokle, Additional Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone-5 R. Raja, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashwini Rakh, Senior Inspector of Police Ravindra Shelke, Inspector of Police (Crime) Vishwas Dagle, and Inspector of Police (Crime) Sandeep Shivle.

The Hadapsar police are actively pursuing further investigations into this case.