Berhampur: Berhampur Police and Military Intelligence Unit, Gopalpur, on Monday seized counterfeit Digital Pattern Combat Uniform meant for Indian Army soldiers from a textile shop in Berhampur.
The seized 488 metres of combat uniform is worth Rs 1,20,000, sources said.
The matter came into light after Rambabu Dangi, who works at Army Air Defence College at Gopalpur, found the counterfeit uniforms during a visit to the shop. “The joint raid was conducted based on the specific inputs received from Military Intelligence Unit. The shop had procured the uniforms from a trader in Kolkata, who had got it from Ludhiana. A case has been registered under sections 420/486/63 of Copyright Act at Town police station and further investigation is underway,” said Berhampur SP Dr Saravana Vivek M.
Sources further said that the shop apparently had been selling uniforms since last 10 years and was unaware of the Indian Army exclusivity.
The new Digital Pattern Combat Uniform for Indian Army soldiers was unveiled on January 15, 2022 (Army Day). The Army had obtained Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for the design and camouflage patterns for a 10-year period, extendable for another five years to prevent unauthorised vendors from manufacturing and selling the combat uniform in the open market, as it was posing a serious security threat for them.
Due to the IPR, the Army possesses exclusive rights to the design and can file a complaint against any unauthorised sale of this design. The new digital pattern army combat uniforms can sold only be sold in the Army’s unit-run canteens.
