FSDA writes to UP district magistrates to invoke Gangster Act in illegal cough syrup case
LUCKNOW: While government agencies are conducting raids and cracking the whip on those allegedly involved in illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrup and trafficking of narcotic-category medicines, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has shot of letters to 31 district magistrates (DMs) across Uttar Pradesh to book the alleged syndicate operators under the UP Gangsters Act. The FSDA has told the DMs to initiate action under the laws provisions that include seizure of properties disproportionate to the known source of income. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids in a palatial bungalow worth crores, owned by dismissed police constable Alok Kumar Singh in Lucknow on Friday. Alok Kumar Singh, who was arrested in connection with the cough syrup scam, is currently languishing in jail. The ED raided 25 locations simultaneously across six cities in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat on Friday morning in connection with a major illegal network dealing in codeine-based cough syrup, officials said. The size of Alok Kumar Singhs bungalow and its overt opulence were there to take everyone in awe. Meanwhile, the development regarding the letters written by FSDA to the DMs has come three days after the Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Inspector General of Police, Law & Order, LR Kumar, to investigate the case. The UP Police and FSDA authorities have carried out raids in 332 firms across 52 districts in UP, during the past two months, lodging FIRs against 133 of them across 31 districts. UP forms SIT to crack Rs 425-crore codeine cough syrup smuggling racket According to FSDA Secretary and Commissioner Roshan Jacob, the department conducted months of intensive investigation spanning Jharkhand, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and collected evidence, including the business links of Uttar Pradeshs super stockists and wholesalers with those states, before launching the raids two months ago. Jacob has also written to district magistrates to initiate action against the jailed operators under the Gangsters Act. As per the FSDA commissioner, CM Yogi had issued directives for stringent action against the culprits ensuring that no diversion takes place from Uttar Pradesh to any other state or country. He (CM) instructed officials not to trouble small traders during enforcement but ensure firm action against super stockists and wholesalers involved in illicit activities, Jacob said. According to officials, for the first time, cases have been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrup. Earlier, such violations were dealt with only through licence cancellations. Informed sources reveal that while probing the records of 332 drug-selling establishments, it was found that many of them did not actually exist and were functioning only as billing points with no purchase or sale records. Many others lacked proper storage arrangements. Out of the 332 firms, 133 were found to be involved in the organised illegal diversion of these medicines for non-medical use. It was discovered that the diverted stock was being routed primarily through state capital Lucknow, Kanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Bahraich to Nepal, and from Varanasi and Ghaziabad to Bangladesh. Cases of trafficking of codeine-based cough syrup for drug abuse have been identified in cities including Varanasi, Jaunpur, Kanpur Nagar, Ghazipur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Bahraich, Bijnor, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sitapur, Sonbhadra, Balrampur, Raebareli, Sant Kabir Nagar, Hardoi, Bhadohi, Amethi, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Unnao, Basti, Ambedkarnagar, Azamgarh, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Banda, and Kaushambi, officials said.
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