The Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited (Milkfed), which sells milk products under the brand name Verka, has filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell of Punjab Police against the circulation of an old video from Turkey, showing a dairy plant worker bathing in a tub filled with milk, as the video from a Verka plant in the state.

Punjab cooperation minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday said since the name Verka has been maliciously used to harm the brand’s reputation in an old video from Turkey, Milkfed has registered a complaint with the Cyber Cell of Punjab Police under the IT Act, 2000 today.

An old video of 2020 from Turkey is going viral on social media platforms, where a person has been shown taking a bath in a tub filled with milk. And, someone has superimposed the name of Verka on this video with the intention to malign the fair name of one of the best cooperative brands, an official spokesperson said.

Cheema said that the depiction of the viral video clearly shows that the said action has been taken with malafide intention to defame and harm the growing goodwill of brand Verka.

The minister said the government has taken a serious note of this malicious act and necessary criminal action will be taken against the culprits.

Cheema said, the video is not related to Verka and deliberately spreading such misinformation can invite legal action, adding that this malicious act will harm the interests of the consumers as well as farmers and will damage our efforts to eradicate the menace of adulteration of milk by unscrupulous elements.

He said it is a matter of record that Verka Milk Plants are fulfilling all statutory requirements laid down by the Food Safety Standards Act of India 2006. Verka has been awarded a prestigious quality mark by the National Dairy Development Board, the minister added.

The managing director of Milkfed, Kamaldeep Singh Sangha, who registered the complaint with Cyber Cell, said this video has no relation to Verka and as per media reports, this video has been shot in a suburb named Konia of Central Anatolian State of Turkey.

He said the morphed video clip could be the handiwork of some unscrupulous elements who are rattled by the increasing popularity of Verka as a premier milk cooperative.