Spurious Drug Scam – Police Handover Case To CB

More Arrests On Cards: IGP
In a surprise move, the government has issued orders for transfer of the spurious drug case from the police to Crime Branch (CB). The Crime Branch sleuths have been asked not to drop any charge against the accused, especially the attempt to murder.

A case was registered in Police Station Rajbagh, Srinagar vide FIR No: 20/2013 307, 120B, 420 and Drugs and Cosmetic Act against M/S Lifeline Pharmaco-Surgicals Ltd Jammu on the application moved by the Medical Superintendent Lalla Ded Hospital.
Soon after registering FIR, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Abdul Aziz Qadri, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) Headquarters Srinagar was constituted by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar Syed Aashiq Hussain Bukhari. Other members of SIT included Station House Officer (SHO) Rajbagh Inspector Riyaz Ahmad and SHO Kothibagh Inspector Syed Zulkarnain.
“The case has now been transferred to Crime Branch,” SIT head, Dy SP Qadri told Greater Kashmir.
Informed sources in police said the orders were issued on Tuesday by J&K Police Headquarters on the directions of State Home Department. They said that in a day or two, the investigation file would be handed over to CB by Rajbagh Police.
As per PHQ order, CB has been asked to include the FIR with all Sections including Section 307 (attempt to murder) in their investigations.
Till now, police investigations have revealed that Lifeline Pharmaco-Surgicals Jammu was approved by Purchase Committee-II to supply Maximizen-625 (Amoxcylin Trihydrate + Calvinate Acid) manufactured by Medley Pharmaceuticals Ltd Mumbai.
The company, investigations revealed, supplied two lakh tablets of the said drug to Director Health Services (DHS) Kashmir and 65000 tablets to hospitals in Jammu.
Meanwhile, CB said that more arrests related to the case were on cards.
CB is also set to question officials of the health and medical education department and some other accused including doctors and administrative heads of various hospitals as part of its investigations into the shocking scam. TADA Court, designated as Special Court to hear cases related to spurious and adulterated drugs, Wednesday asked police to execute non-bailable warrants against 15 accused including Akhil Gadoo of Tomal Colony Bohri Jammu, Amardeep Raina of Muthi Jammu, Ashok Kumar Raina of Muthi Jammu (Proprietors of M/S Life Line Pharmaco-Surgicals), Prem Prakash Barnwal of UP (Director M/S Sanative Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd), Manjula Barnwal of UP (Director M/S Sanative Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd), Asok Kumar of Dehradun (Analytical Chemist of M/S Sanative Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd), Manoj Kumar Agarwal of Patna-Bihar (Director M/S Sanative Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd), Rahul Kumar Singh of Dehradun (Managing Director M/S Medley Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd Medley House of Mumbai), Arvind Billa (Proprietor of M/S Affy Parenterals Village Gullerwala of Himachal Pradesh), Vilas Bhimarao Thorat of Himachal Pradesh (Manufacturing Chemist of M/S Affy Parenterals Village Gullerwala), Suneet Bhardwaj of Himachal Pradesh (Manufacturing Chemist of M/S Affy Parenterals Village Gullerwala), Bipin Kumar of Himachal Pradesh (Analytical Chemist of M/S Affy Parenterals), Sanjay Mishra of Himachal Pradesh (Manufacturing Chemist of M/S Affy Parenterals Village Gullerwala) and Suraj Enterprises.
Following the surfacing of the drug scam the state government handed over the case to the Crime Branch for investigation. CB has already arrested two persons in this connection.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Crime J&K, Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani told Greater Kashmir that they are going to question some more people including government officials and other related persons in this connection. “More arrests are on cards and questioning will likely give us more clues,” IGP Gilani said and added that till now only two persons have been arrested.
Informed sources in CB said the government officials to be questioned include the members of Jammu-based Purchase Committee-II and proprietors of Lifeline Pharmaco-Surgicals Jammu, who supplied the spurious drugs.
The Purchase Committee members include the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, its five members, and accounts officer. “There might be a nexus and that has to be ascertained,” CB sources.
Informed sources further said CB will also question the people related to the scam in valley. “The persons who received the drugs without analytical report would also be questioned. The persons who distributed the drugs without analytical report would also be questioned,” they said adding that all these officials seem to be involved in the scam one way or the other.
CB team, sources said, will also visit Sanative Pharma Dehradun and Affy Pharma Himachal Pradesh. “The CB has sought permission from counterparts in these states, so that people of these two Pharma companies are questioned,” they said.