Patna
The drug control administration (DCA), a wing of the state’s health department, has lodged an FIR against four persons for allegedly running a drug shop at Kalisthan in Patna City without licence. The quartet has also been charged with making misleading claims and publishing indecent advertisements. The FIR was lodged following a raid on the shop in which “fake” drugs worth Rs 10 lakh were seized.
The team found that the shop, Raj Sales, was selling drugs manufactured by Indore-based firms – Raj Pharma and Raj Herbals-for treatment of impotency, menstrual problems, leucoderma, piles, pigmentation and a host of other sexual disorders. The firm has been booked under Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, sources said, adding that though the firm claimed that it sold only Ayurveda products, the DCA suspected allopathic medicines were also being sold. Hence, the quartet has been booked under sections 27 (a) and 27 (C) of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulation Act (1940).
“Steroids and other such drugs, whose self-medication is extremely harmful, were being sold by the firm,” said the DCA sources. The six member team of drug inspector found that the monthly sale of the firm was more than Rs 30 lakh. DCA sources said the firm also used to publish indecent advertisements to promote the sale of drugs.
The four have, therefore, also been booked under Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. For misleading people, they have been booked under section 420 of IPC besides sections 419, 417 and several others. Some of these sections invite punishment from seven years to life, a health department official said. Manager of Raj Sales, Vipin Kishore, has been arrested. However, Sudhir Naugadia, owner of the firm, is still on the run. The two others named in the FIR are chairman-cum-managing director of Raj Pharma, Indore and chairman-cum-managing director of Raj Herbals, Indore.
