Multi-state fake drug racket busted in Uttarakhand, 12 including mastermind arrested
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has dismantled a major network involved in the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit branded medicines, arresting four company owners and plant heads in a significant breakthrough. With these arrests, the STF has now taken the total number of accused to 12, including the alleged mastermind behind the operation. The most recent arrests, a husband-and-wife duo, were made on Friday in Zirakpur, Punjab. STF Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh Bhullar confirmed the arrests, stating, We had been receiving continuous complaints about the exact replication of life-saving medicines and their illicit sale in the market. The use of these fake drugs not only posed severe health risks to the public but also caused substantial revenue losses to the government. He added that Director General of Police Deepam Seth had directed the STF to take stringent action to curb the menace. We immediately instructed our team to work on a high priority to identify this fake medicine syndicate and ensure decisive action, SSP Bhullar said. The investigation gathered pace on June 1, when the STF apprehended Santosh Kumar, who was found with counterfeit wrappers, outer boxes, labels, and QR codes of reputed pharmaceutical companies. A case was registered at Selaqui Police Station in Dehradun, and the probe was later transferred to the STF. Santosh Kumars arrest led to several other key arrests, including Naveen Bansal, Aditya Kala, Devi Dayal Gupta, Pankaj Sharma, and Vijay Kumar Pandey. The inquiry has revealed that Keron Life Science Pvt Ltd, BLBK Pharmaceutical Pvt Ltd, Oxi Pharma Pvt Ltd, and Zentic Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd were manufacturing large quantities of drugs without proper licenses. These medicines were sold to Naveen Bansals fictitious company, Beechem Biotech, located in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. STF also found that to falsely indicate government supply, the MRP 00.00 was marked on the drug bills. Naveen Bansal then re-packaged these unlabelled drugs under branded company names and distributed them in the open market. Further investigation revealed that illegal drug purchases and supplies had taken place multiple times during the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25, showing the large scale of the criminal operation.
Jodhpur police cremated Muslim youth despite missing report, family learns truth after DNA test
JAIPUR: Jodhpur police are facing backlash for allegedly cremating, instead of burying, the body of a 20-year-old Muslim youth, Ismail, despite a missing persons report being filed days earlier. The body, found in Gulab Sagar, was labelled unclaimed and cremated, a violation of Islamic burial practices. It was only after a DNA test that the body was confirmed to be Ismails, leaving the family devastated and angry. Ismail, who lived in Chimanpura Gali-4, went missing on 17 June. His family reported his disappearance to the Sadar Bazar police station on 20 June. Just a day later, on 21 June, the body of a young man was recovered from Gulab Sagar and placed in the mortuary at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, falling under the jurisdiction of the nearby Sadar Kotwali police station. Despite the fact that Sadar Bazar and Sadar Kotwali police stations operate from the same premises, they allegedly failed to coordinate. On 25 June, the Sadar Kotwali police treated the body as unidentified and cremated it. It was not until 26 June that Ismails sister-in-law came across visuals and information about the body recovered from the reservoir. Suspicious that it could be her missing relative, she informed the family. They contacted the Sojati Gate police and demanded verification. A DNA test was ordered. The following day, on 27 June, Ismails mother, Malka, provided a blood sample. The results from the Forensic Science Laboratory later confirmed that the cremated body was indeed Ismail's. On receiving the confirmation, Malka broke down, grieving not only her sons death but also the denial of religious burial rites. She accused the police of both carelessness and deep insensitivity. He should have been buried, not cremated, she said, struggling to hold back tears. Assistant Sub-Inspector Nemichand from Sadar Bazar police station acknowledged that the body was badly decomposed when found, making identification difficult. It was considered unclaimed at the time. After we were informed of the missing report, we proceeded with DNA testing, he said. This is not the first time such a mistake has allegedly occurred in Rajasthan. A similar incident was reported in 2019 in Bhiwadi, Alwar, where police cremated the body of a Muslim youth before confirming his identity. That event had triggered protests by the Meo community, with community leader Sher Mohammad accusing the police of serious insensitivity. The latest Jodhpur incident has reignited concerns about police protocol in handling unidentified bodies. It has raised questions about accountability, coordination between departments, and the respect of religious practices, especially when families have already reported someone missing. The case has drawn strong reactions from locals, who are demanding clear procedures and strict action to prevent such incidents from recurring.
DEHRADUN: In a significant breakthrough, the Uttarakhand Polices Special Task Force (STF) has arrested the alleged mastermind behind a multi-crore fake drug manufacturing racket that has been supplying spurious life-saving medicines across Uttarakhand and other parts of India for the past four years. The arrest of Devi Dayal Gupta, owner of Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd, based in Ashok Vihar, North West Delhi, marks a major step in dismantling the alleged organised crime syndicate. The crackdown comes after the State Director General of Police Deepam Seth directed the STF to identify and take stringent action against gangs involved in the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit drugs, which pose a severe threat to public health. Following the DGPs directive, SSP STF Navneet Singh Bhullar had instructed his teams to prepare the complete profile of these fake drug manufacturers and ensure strict action against them. Speaking to TNIE , SSP STF Navneet Singh Bhullar said, On June 1, the STF had previously arrested one Santosh Kumar from Dehradun with a large quantity of fake outer boxes, labels, and QR codes of prominent pharmaceutical companies, including GLENMARK (Telma AM, Telma 40), Ipca Laboratories Ltd (ZERO DOL SP), Intas Pharma Ltd (Gabapin NT), ALKEM Health Science (PAN 40, PAN L), Dr REDDY LABORATORIES (VOVERAN SR 100), and Cadila Pharmaceutical (CODECTUSS TR Cough Syrup). In the ongoing investigation, the STF had already arrested three individuals Santosh Kumar, Naveen Bansal, and Aditya Kala. However, the search for the factory owner, who had been absconding since the initial arrests, became a significant challenge for the STF team. Interrogation of the previously arrested accused Naveen Bansal revealed that he was allegedly getting the fake medicines prepared at Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd and other factories located in the Sahaspur area. These counterfeit drugs were then allegedly transported to various locations, including Haryana and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. Leveraging manual policing and intensive efforts, the STF team successfully arrested Devi Dayal Gupta, the owner of the company, from Dehradun on Friday. Gupta, a resident of B-3/70, Ashok Vihar Phase-2, North West Delhi, is allegedly the kingpin of the organised syndicate led by the previously arrested mastermind Naveen Bansal and was responsible for manufacturing and supplying the counterfeit drugs. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Devi Dayal Guptas Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd had allegedly manufactured and supplied a staggering quantity of counterfeit drugs to Naveen Bansal. SSP Bhullar said, Between 2021 and the present, the factory produced approximately 1.423 crore tablets and 2 lakh capsules. These included various popular medications such as 50.86 lakh Pantoprazole tablets, 15 lakh Diclocin SP tablets, 7.70 lakh Levocetirizine tablets, 33.93 lakh Prochlorperazine tablets, 25.54 lakh Amlodipine tablets, 6.05 lakh Aceclofenac and Paracetamol tablets, and 4.50 lakh Telmisartan tablets.
