Cough syrup deaths: SC rejects PIL seeking CBI probe, nationwide drug safety review
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking an inquiry and systemic reform in drug safety mechanisms in the wake of deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly due to consumption of toxic cough syrups.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and K Vinod Chandran dismissed the PIL filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to it.
The top law officer said the petitioner reads the newspaper and rushes to the court.
The bench, which was initially of the view that the notice should be issued, later dismissed it.
Mehta said he was not appearing for any state at the moment but the seriousness with which states like Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are taking actions cannot be undermined.
Moreover, there are proper law enforcement mechanisms in states, he added.
The bench asked Tiwari as to how many PILs he has filed so far in the top court and on being told that he has moved eight to 10 such pleas so far, the bench dismissed the instant petition.
"Dismissed," the CJI said.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
