Bengaluru: I-T raids at manufactures of Dolo-650, pill that got popular during Covid
Bengaluru, Jul 6: The Income Tax department Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company Micro Labs Ltd, the manufacturers of Dolo-650 tablet that was widely used by COVID-19 patients during the last over two years, on charges of alleged tax evasion.
Officials said the department is looking at financial documents, balance sheets and business distributor networks of the company as part of the searches.
The PTI has sent queries on the action to the company and a response is awaited.
Some other linked locations of the company in other cities and those of its promoters and distributors are also being covered, they said.
The company said on its website that it was engaged in the making and marketing pharmaceutical products and APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and has 17 manufacturing units across the country apart from conducting business overseas.
Its major pharma products are Dolo-650, Amlong, Lubrex, Diapride, Vildapride, Olmat, Avas, Tripride, Bactoclav, Tenepride-M and Arbitel.
Dolo-650, an analgesic (pain killer) and antipyretic (fever-reducing) was being prescribed by doctors and medical shop owners for coronavirus patients to reduce pain and fever, common symptoms caused by Covid.
In the words of the company, Dolo-650, is "virtually a household name across the country".
The company website showcased a news article, published in February, on its website that said: "The company has sold 350 crore tablets (of Dolo-650) since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, and earned revenues of Rs 400 crore in a year."
The CMD of the company, Dilip Surana, has been quoted in the story.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
