Two doctors held for supplying tramadol tablets to private hospitals in Amritsar

Tightening the noose around the illegal supply of tramadol tablets to private hospitals, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has reportedly arrested two doctors of the city’s private hospital here today. The arrested individuals were identified as Dr Rajesh Kumar and Dr Parveen.

Following their arrest, the NCB nominated a retired government doctor as a co-accused in the case, it was learnt. According to officials of the NCB, he had gone underground. Despite being summoned twice for questioning, he appeared only once. Raids are now being conducted to arrest him. The arrested doctors would be produced before the court tomorrow to obtain their police remand for further interrogation, said an NCB official.

Earlier, the NCB had arrested the hospital’s owner, Baudh Raj. Meanwhile, the bail hearing for other co-accused doctors — Dr Jatinder Malhotra and Dr Rajinder Rajan — is scheduled before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 9. Dr Parveen had also filed an anticipatory bail plea seeking relief in the same case. The arrest was part of investigations in the alleged illegal supply of tramadol tablets to private hospitals beyond their allotted quota.

Earlier, the NCB had arrested a web journalist and a pharmaceutical company owner Deepak Bhandari in the case. His brother Amit Bhandari and two private hospital doctors were also arrested on May 6 this year. Several other members of the Bhandari family were named in the case as well.

Amit Bhandari was first arrested on May 2 following the seizure of over 30,000 tramadol tablets, a prescription painkiller often misused as a narcotic. The next day, Dr Malhotra and Dr Rajan were arrested after 2,000 tramadol tablets were recovered from each of them without valid licences to store such psychotropic drugs. — TNS