Spurious ointment racket busted; Delhi Police recovers material worth Rs 2 crore from Ghaziabad unit
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted a major interstate racket allegedly involved in the manufacture, repackaging and nationwide sale of spurious Schedule-H medicines, an official said on Sunday.
Police have also located a manufacturing unit and seized counterfeit drugs and raw material worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
According to the police, two men -- Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta of northeast Delhi's Sabhapur -- have been arrested in the case, he said.
"The operation was carried out by the Crime Branch. The accused were engaged in producing and selling counterfeit versions of popular prescription ointments, including Betnovate-C and Clop-G, which are widely used for treating skin infections, allergies and sports-related injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said in a statement.
The officer further said the spurious medicines were sold as genuine branded products, posing a serious risk to public health.
Acting on inputs, the Crime Branch team first conducted a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of the country's largest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets.
"During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit Schedule-H ointments was recovered. Subsequent technical analysis and follow-up intelligence led the team to a manufacturing unit operating from Meerpur Hindu village in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
"A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of counterfeit medicines, huge quantities of raw chemicals, packing material, empty tubes bearing forged brand labels and machinery used for mixing, filling and sealing ointments," the DCP said.
He further said drug inspectors from the North and Central Zones of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of the concerned pharmaceutical companies, conducted spot inspections and drew samples from the seized stock. They confirmed that the medicines were counterfeit and neither manufactured nor supplied by their companies.
The accused were also found to be operating without any valid licence to manufacture, store or sell pharmaceutical products, he added.
Police said that an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station on December 12 under various sections of the BNS and provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"The seized material included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop-G, more than 3,700 tubes of spurious Skin-Shine ointment, nearly 22,000 empty fake Clop-G tubes, over 350 kilograms of semi-prepared ointment, besides chemicals and manufacturing equipment," the DCP said.
He said further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, delivery handlers and retailers involved in the illegal trade.
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Woman techie dies by suicide in Hyderabad over 'dowry harassment'
Hyderabad (PTI): A 26-year-old woman software professional from Bihar allegedly died by suicide at her residence here due to "harassment" by her husband for additional dowry, police said on Thursday.
The woman was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the hall of the flat on Wednesday by her husband.
On receiving information about the incident, the police reached the spot and conducted inquiry.
Based on the complaint filed by the woman's family members, a case was registered at Miyapur Police Station and her husband was taken into custody.
According to a police official, the deceased woman, a native of Bihar, befriended a man from Madhya Pradesh through on a social media platform in 2020, and since the last five years they were in a live-in relationship.
In February this year, they got married in Patna in the presence of their family members. After marriage, the couple were staying in an apartment in Miyapur here.
However, recently some differences cropped up between the couple as her husband was allegedly mentally harassing her for additional dowry, the official said.
Further, the woman's husband, who set up a start-up company, was also harassing her family members to invest in his firm, police said.
Unable to bear the harassment, she died by suicide, the official said, based on preliminary investigation.
The accused has been apprehended and further investigation is underway, police added.
