New Delhi: Delhi Police has busted a racket in which govt-supplied medicines meant for free distribution through hospitals were being diverted for private sale.Three men — identified as Neeraj Kumar, 53, Sushil, 46, and Laxman Mukhia, 47, — have been detained, and investigators are probing the alleged involvement of a pharmacy store in-charge at a govt hospital.
The case came to light on April 2 after police received a tip-off about medicines meant for govt hospitals being transported in a tempo and a car.
Acting on the information, a Crime Branch team laid a trap at Rajendra Market in Tis Hazari. The two vehicles were intercepted, and a search led to the recovery of two boxes of medicines from the car and 97 boxes from the tempo. All the cartons were marked “Govt Supply – Not for Sale”.
A detailed examination revealed a large quantity of medicines, including 1,18,800 tablets of Cefixime (200 mg), 19,200 tablets of Amoxicillin Potassium Clavulanate, and 6,552 injections of Erythropoietin, Ceftriaxone, Ceftazidime, Meropenem, Rabies Antiserum and Turoctocog Alfa (NovoEight 500).
An officer said the medicines were meant for free distribution through govt hospitals but were allegedly being sold in the private market.
During questioning, Neeraj failed to produce any valid documents or give a satisfactory explanation for possessing the medicines. He later allegedly admitted to colluding with a pharmacy store in-charge at a govt hospital to illegally procure the medicines and transport them to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh for sale. He also told police that Sushil assisted him in the operation and that Laxman Mukhia’s tempo was used to transport the consignment.
A case has been registered under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 318(2) (cheating), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The seized medicines and vehicles remain in police custody.
Investigators are now trying to ascertain how long the racket had been operating, the channels used to divert the medicines, and whether more individuals were involved in facilitating or benefiting from the illegal trade.
In a similar case in Feb, Delhi Police busted a medicine supply racket in west Delhi and arrested a 47-year-old medical store owner allegedly involved in selling restricted drugs, including Tramadol capsules and codeine-based cough syrup. The supplier was also arrested.
