Overview
- A joint operation by Army intelligence and Rajasthan Police on July 30 recovered about 1,000 metres of unauthorised Army-pattern combat cloth and seized Army-style boots, caps, laces and related items from shops across Sriganganagar district.
- The raids followed a June seizure of similar counterfeit cloth in Bareilly that investigators traced back to a manufacturing source in Sriganganagar, prompting a discreet Army probe and an interim report shared with Rajasthan Police in mid-July.
- Investigators have identified a local firm and individual suppliers, including an alleged supplier named Harsh, as key links in a network that distributed restricted-pattern fabric to retailers and tailors in Sriganganagar, Lalgarh Jattan, Suratgarh and nearby markets.
- The Indian Army holds intellectual property rights over its digital camouflage pattern and says unauthorised manufacture, sale or use is illegal; preliminary checks show uniforms made from the fake fabric were sold in open markets for about Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000.
- Authorities have recommended mapping the full supply chain and taking legal action against those involved, and they warn the circulation of restricted-pattern clothing raises serious security risks in sensitive India–Pakistan border areas and may trigger further raids and prosecutions.