MANGALURU: Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader on Tuesday said those involved in manufacturing and trading spurious medicines should face stringent criminal action rather than mere licence cancellation or fines. Calling the incident an “eye-opener”, he said the state would urge the Centre to amend laws so offenders could be booked under serious charges, including attempt to murder or murder, as they were endangering human lives.
Speaking to reporters, Khader said a preliminary inquiry had revealed that the fake medicines were manufactured in different states and brought to Karnataka before being supplied to various parts of the country.
Following discussions with the Chief Minister and Home Minister, the government decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising police officers and officials from the Drugs Control and Commercial Taxes departments. The team will also investigate the source of invoices and vouchers used in the operation.
The government has already ordered the withdrawal of the seized batch of counterfeit medicines from hospitals and medical shops. Khader said the SIT will probe the seizure of counterfeit medicines worth over Rs 5 crore at Bidadi, noting that the racket appeared to have interstate links and those responsible would not be spared.
Khader said the government was exploring the establishment of a high-end laboratory or partnering with an existing lab to conduct random quality tests on medicines collected from factories, hospitals and pharmacies.
He said he had written to the Union Health Minister seeking the deputation of a Central Drug Surveillance Officer to assist in the investigation. Since the value of the seized drugs exceeds Rs 5 crore, the Centre may also order a CBI probe, he added.