Bhagalpur, Oct. 24: Sweet lovers in the eastern Bihar district are forced to depend on fake and artificial sweets on Diwali too. Despite the state health department issuing a warning and imposing a ban on various sweets like doda barfi and milk cake, the sale of these varieties have continued unabated.

Residents blamed lack of proper police vigilance and health department officials behind the spurious sweet racket.

Acting on a tip-off, Jamui police recently raided a house in Puraini Bazaar area in the district and busted a racket where sweets were being manufactured using adulterated khoya and paneer and other chemicals that are harmful.

“The people involved in the racket used to collect unsold sweets which usually get rotten. They used rotten khoya and paneer apart from artificial milk used by chemicals and other items such as urea. The rotten sweets were mixed with artificial milk to make it appear fresh. Then, they used to supply the khoya and paneer to the sweet manufacturing units,” Pushakar Anand, additional superintendent of police, Jamui, had told reporters after the raids.

The malpractice affected several people in the district. “Both my daughters started vomiting yesterday after taking sweets, which my husband purchased from a local sweet shop. We took them to the clinic, where they got medical attention,” said Tulika Jha, a homemaker in Tilkamanjhi area in the city.

Shantanu Ghosh, a doctor at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, said such items were “very dangerous” for health, particularly for those suffering from gastroenteritis. “Consuming such sweets can also be fatal,” he said.

Partho Ghosh, the owner of Gokul Sweets, a reputed shop in Bhagalpur, said such malpractices have made way into the city to meet the demand for sweets during Diwali.

Niranjan Mishra, the civil surgeon of Bhagalpur said three food security inspectors posted in Bhagalpur, are all in Patna according to the order of the food commissioner.