Medical shop owner held for supplying banned psychotropic medicines in Delhi

In a significant breakthrough, a medical shop owner of Bhagirath Palace — a hub of chemist shops in Delhi — was arrested for sourcing prohibited psychotropic medicines from UP’s Gorakhpur on Thursday.

The breakthrough came following a tip-off regarding the supply of prohibited medicines in the city and based on this, a team from crime branch unit laid a trap near Tis Hazari Court.

It resulted in the arrest of Harish Khurana, a 55-year-old running a small chemist shop in Bhagirath Palace market with seizure of 2,160 capsules of tramadol, a drug to treat severe pain, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Harsh Indora.

The investigation revealed that Khurana was procuring the medicines from Gautam Singh, who operates a small shop in Bhagirath Palace, Delhi. Gautam Singh, in turn, was sourcing the medicines from Amit Goyal, a medicine shop owner from Bhalotia Market in Gorakhpur, UP, the cop added.

In the sustained interrogation, he revealed that they had been involved in the supply of prohibited medicines for some time.

Moreover, he also has a history of involvement in similar cases as he had started selling ayurvedic medicines after being released from prison in 2024 but began procuring prohibited medicines from Gautam Singh to make more money, the DCP said.

Singh disclosed that he had been sourcing these capsules from Amit Goyal, who would supply them through courier services, concealing them as normal packages.