Cough syrup linked deaths: Manufacturing activities stopped at Noida pharma firm
New Delhi (PTI): All manufacturing activities at Marion Biotech's Noida unit have been stopped in view of reports of contamination of its cough syrup Dok-1 Max, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.
Further investigation in connection with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to the cough syrup is going on, he said in a tweet.
"Following inspection by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF team in view of reports of contamination in cough syrup Dok1 Max, all manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech at NOIDA unit have been stopped yesterday night, while further investigation is ongoing," Mandaviya said.
The company's legal representative had said on Thursday that the manufacture of Dok-1 Max has stopped "for now". Mandaviya had said Thursday that further action would be taken based on the inspection of the pharma company.
Marion Biotech does not sell Dok-1 Max in India and its only export has been to Uzbekistan, an Uttar Pradesh government official had said.
Samples of the cough syrup have been taken from the manufacturing premises in Noida and sent to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Chandigarh for testing, Mandaviya had said.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), he had said, was in regular contact with the national drug regulator of Uzbekistan regarding the matter since December 27.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said India is in touch with the Uzbek authorities and has sought details of their investigation into the matter. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said consular assistance is being provided to some linked to the company who are facing legal action there.
Noting that the Uzbek authorities have not formally taken up the matter with New Delhi, he had said, "Nevertheless, our embassy has contacted the Uzbek side and is seeking further details of their investigation."
Marion Biotech is a licensed manufacturer and holds the licence for manufacturing Dok-1 Max syrup and tablet for export purpose granted by the Drugs Controller, Uttar Pradesh, the health ministry had said in a statement.
The governments of both countries are looking into the matter, said Hasan Harris, legal representative of the Noida-based Marion Biotech.
"There is no problem from our end and no issue in testing. We have been there for the past 10 years. Once the government report will come, we will look into it. For now the manufacturing has stopped," Harris had told PTI.
Before Uzbekistan's claims, there were reports linking the deaths of 70 children in Gambia to cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. The Drugs Controller General of India had claimed that the WHO drew a premature link.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
