When will action be taken against the Government Officials who do not verify the quality of medicines and support the fake establishment ? : Asks ‘Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad’

A serious issue of playing with people’s lives by supplying fake medicines to Government hospitals

Mumbai – Recently, the Food and Drug Administration raided ‘Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital’, a Government hospital in Nagpur, and seized 21,600 fake pills of ‘Ciprofloxacin’. In this case, when there was a renowned drug research institute like ‘Haffkine’ in Maharashtra, how could fake drugs be procured from a bogus drug establishment called ‘Refined Pharma Gujarat’ ?, Who allowed it to happen in Government hospitals across the state ?’, ‘Why was there a deliberate 10 months delay in verifying the medicines ?’, these questions arise. This is a very serious matter of playing with the lives of all patients. Therefore, it is not enough for the Government to register a case against the company that supplies fake medicines, but when will action be taken against the Government officials who do not verify the quality of medicines and support the bogus establishments ?, questioned the ‘Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad’ and demanded strict legal action against those who are behind all these conspiracies, through a letter to the Maharashtra Government.

Who received the written complaint ?

In this regard, the National President of ‘Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad’, Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, has lodged a written complaint with the Health Minister of Maharashtra State Dr Tanaji Sawant, Food and Drug Administration Minister Dharmarao Baba Atram, as well as the Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration.

Purchase of bogus medicines from a non-existing establishment

In March 2023, the Food and Drug Administration seized fake tablets in Nagpur’s Kalmeshwar taluka. The fake pills seized from the Government Health Facility in Kamleswar taluka were sent to the Government Laboratory in Mumbai for verification. The report of this investigation came out after 10 months i.e., in December 2023. In this report, it was shockingly revealed that an immunosuppressive drug ‘Ciprofloxacin’ was not in the pills. These fake medicines have been supplied to Government drug centres across the State. The establishment of ‘Refined Pharma Gujarat’ which manufactures these medicines is non-existent. The Police have registered a case against three people in this regard and one of them is in a jail sentence for the same crime of selling fake drugs.

The letter by Advocate Ichalkaranjikar states further,

1. Action taken by the Food and Drug Administration has been woefully inadequate and questionable. Why was the report of tablets taken for verification in March 2023 delayed till December 2023 ? What happened to the patients who were given these medicines between March 2023 and December 2023 should be understood. One of the accused is serving a prison sentence for the crime of selling fake drugs; then why was this not revealed in the investigation ? Was the investigation stopped in the middle by taking bride ? Several such doubts arise.

2. Strict action should be taken against those who buy drugs without full verification at the Government level and exclude organisations like ‘Haffkine’, as well as all other culprits. People should understand what the Government is going to do to avoid such types of corruption.