MANGALURU: Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader on Tuesday announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the seizure of counterfeit medicines worth over Rs 5 crore near Bidadi, saying the racket appears to have interstate links and that those responsible would not be spared.
Speaking to reporters, Khader said the preliminary inquiry revealed the fake medicines were manufactured in different states and brought to Karnataka before being supplied to various parts of the country.
Khader said following discussions with the chief minister and the home minister, the government decided to constitute an SIT comprising police officers, officials from the Drugs Control Department and the Commercial Taxes Department. The team will also investigate the source of invoices and vouchers used in the operation.
The state health minister said he has 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.
Calling the incident an "eye-opener", the minister said those involved in manufacturing and trading spurious medicines should face stringent criminal action rather than mere licence cancellation or fines.
Khader said the state would urge the Centre to amend laws so that offenders could be booked under serious charges, including attempt to murder or murder, as they were endangering human lives.
The government has already ordered the withdrawal of the seized batch of counterfeit medicines from hospitals and medical shops.
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.
