Health Dept raids 6 medical shops

Aparna Banerji

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 31

About 15,000 tablets worth

Rs7 lakh — primarily habit-forming drugs and unbilled — were seized in raids conducted by the Health Department here on Friday.

After The Tribune highlighted the reduction in inspections in the city and lack of the nailing of the manufacturers’ supply chain from where habit-forming drugs were pouring in to the city, the Health Department on Friday inspected six shops in the Dilkhusha market. It is the largest retail and wholesale medicine market in the city.

While unbilled habit — forming drugs, including those in the schedule H — were seized from three shops.

The habit-forming unbilled drugs were found from Ashoka Pharmaceuticals, Lalji Medicos and the LRG Mediworld situated in the Dikhusha market.

While the Health Department has so far primarily concentrated on retailers, on Friday, it was the first major inspection primarily focused on the wholesale markets in the city.

So far, the Health Department has issued show-cause notices to 30 chemists in the city and these shall also be issued to the shops where the raids were conducted.

Drug inspectors Anupama Kalia and Amarjit Singh and Dealing Assistant Dinesh Kumar were a part of the team that inspected the shops in the market.

At Ashoka Pharmaceuticals, as many as 10 types of drugs were seized. At Lalji Medicos, the team found 24 types of drugs and 13 types of drugs were seized from LRG Mediworld.

The owners of these could not produce proper records of sale or purchase.

Besides, at the SR Lalji Medicine Centre, no competent person was present when the team conducted the inspection.

At SR Lalji Medicine Centre, Satnam Mediworld and Quality Medisurge, no drugs were seized. Medicines worth Rs15,000 were also seized from the New Ruby Hospital Chemist shop on Thursday.

Zonal Licensing Authority Dr Karun Sachdev said, “Soon, we shall issue show-cause notices to these medical stores. Based on their replies, action will be taken on their licences. The raids were conducted to check wholesale shops. A major drug haul has been seized. Drugs were seized from the medicine stores that were unable to show any sale or purchase documents. Major action shall also follow in the coming days.”