Panipat: BJP leader’s son held for selling codeine syrups to dubious firms

Tribune News Service

Panipat, August 26

A Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team has arrested Neeraj Bhatia, owner of a medicine manufacturing unit, Vidit Healthcare at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, for allegedly being involved in a diversion racket involving codeine-based syrups and supplying them to shell companies.

Neeraj Bhatia, a resident of Model Town in Panipat, is the son of senior BJP leader Nitisen Bhatia and a relative of a former BJP MP Sanjay Bhatia.

The NCB, Jammu unit, arrested Neeraj Bhatia from Himachal Pradesh on August 22. Till now, the NCB has arrested seven persons in this case and around 34 kh of codeine-based syrups have been seized.

The drug authorities in Himachal Pradesh have started an investigation into the matter. A special team comprising four drug inspectors, has started an investigation of the records pertaining to the manufacture and sale of codeine syrups after getting information from the NCB officials.

An official of the drugs control administration said they were probing various records pertaining to the manufacture of codeine syrups at Vidit Healthcare, Paonta Sahib. As per a preliminary probe, the codeine syrup was supplied in Delhi. It was being ascertained whether the said sale was as per the records available in the unit.