Tramadol supply: NCB arrests pvt hospital owner, calls retd govt doctor for probe

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has tightened the noose around private hospitals and a retired government doctor in connection with the illegal supply of tramadol tablets in private hospitals.

It has arrested the owner of a private hospital while it has summoned a retired government doctor for probe. “Dr Bodh Raj, owner of the Life Care Hospital, has been arrested while his brother Dr Parveen was still absconding,” said an NCB official wishing not to be named. Besides, a retired government doctor has also been summoned by the NCB and he was yet to join the investigations, he added.

The arrest was part of investigations in the alleged illegal supply of tramadol tablets in private hospitals beyond their allotted quota.

Earlier, it arrested a web journalist and the owner of a pharmaceutical company, Deepak Bhandari, in the case. The Central agency had also arrested his brother Amit Bhandari and two private hospital doctors in the case on May 6. Besides, the NCB had also nominated several other family members of Deepak Bhandari in the case.

Amit Bhandari was arrested by the NCB on May 2 after the seizure of over 30,000 tablets of tramadol, a prescription painkiller often misused as a narcotic. A day later, it arrested two private hospital owners — Dr Jatinder Malhotra and Dr Rajinder Rajan — in the case. The NCB had recovered 2,000 tablets of tramadol from each one as they did not have the required licence to keep such a large quantity of psychotropic drugs.

After the arrest of Amit Bhandari and two doctors, Deepak Bhandari, who had gone underground, went live on social media to publicly present his side of the story. He had refuted the accusations against him stating that neither he nor his family members are involved in illegal activity. He further defended the doctors named in the case, asserting that they are legitimate medical professionals and not involved in illegal drug trade. Bhandari had claimed that his company holds a valid licence for purchase and supply of tramadol.