Sedative drugs seized from firm workers

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 13

As many as 3,250 capsules of sedative drug spasmo proxyvon plus were seized from two places by a team of the Baddi police last evening. The capsule is consumed as a sedative drug by the addicts in the area.

Assistant SP Gaurav Singh, while confirming the news, said the origin of these capsules was traced to their site of manufacturing at the pharmaceutical unit Wockhardt in the Baddi industrial area.

The seized capsules were part of the rejected lot of a batch manufactured in the unit which was procured by certain company employees for their surreptitious sale in the area.

It was yet to be ascertained whether senior management in the company was aware of this dubious practice of disposing of the rejected lot through junior level company employees and whether more such employees were involved in the practice.

He said the police found Arvind Kumar, an employee of the company, delivering a packet containing 1,600 such capsules to a kiryana shop owned by Naresh Kumar at Kunjahal village last evening.

Further inquiries led to one Sandeep Kumar, also a company employee, from whose rented accommodation 1,650 more such capsules were seized by the police.

Since the issue pertains to violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the police involved the Drug Inspector (DI) in the case and further investigations were underway by the officials of the Drug Control Administration.

The modus operandi has left the police shocked as earlier it was being contemplated that such capsules were only smuggled into the area through from other states like Haryana.

It was known that about 1 to 3 per cent of drugs in a single batch were rejected owing to various reasons and they were disposed of.

Drug Controller Navneet Marwaha said action under section 18(c) and 18 (a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 has been initiated against the two company employees for selling the drugs without license and bill and a DI has been directed to inquire whether other employees were also involved in its sale or not. Further action as per law would also be initiated against other erring employees he asserted.