Complaint against Kala Amb company, 2 Ambala dealers

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4

A day after an FIR was lodged in Himachal Pradesh, a police complaint was today lodged in Haryana against the Kala Amb-based pharmaceutical unit Digital Vision, two Ambala firms and their owners for the manufacture and sale of Coldbest-PC, responsible for the death of 12 children at Ramnagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

Narender Ahooja, State Drugs Controller-cum-Joint Commissioner, Food and Drugs Administration, Haryana, said a complaint has been forwarded to the Ambala SP to lodge an FIR against Digital Vision, Kala Amb, Shiva Medical Hall, Ambala Cantonment, Purshotam Lal Goyal, partner-cum-competent person of the firm, Shiva Medical Agencies, Ambala Cantonment, and Aman Gupta, partner-cum-competent person of the firm.

In his complaint, Parveen Kumar, Drug Control Officer, Ambala, said upon receipt of information from the Drugs and Food Control Organisation, Jammu, regarding infant fatalities at Ramnagar due to presence of the toxic substance diethylene propylene in Colbest-PC syrup, a team raided its dealers — Shiva Medical Hall and Shiva Medical Agencies.

The samples of the killer syrup were taken and sent to a laboratory for testing. The report of the government analyst said, “The drug is not of standard quality.”

The report also carried a note, “The sample does not conform to the claim with respect to uniformity of volume, ph and assay of phenylephrine hydrochloride. The sample has been tested for diethylene glycol and found positive for the same and content of diethylene glycol is 34.97 per cent w/v.”

The complaint said that the persons and firms in question were liable to be booked for contravention of Section 18(a)(i), read with Section 17A, punishable under Section 27(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by manufacturing and selling an adulterated drug.

This offence was cognisable and non-bailable as per the provision of Section 36-AC of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, as well as any other section deemed fit under the IPC. Ambala SP Abhishek Jorwal said he was yet to receive the complaint.

Twelve children had died in Ramnagar after they were administered cold and fever syrup Colbest-PC, manufactured by Digital Vision. The entire batch of 5,575 bottles of Coldbest-PC syrup was sent to Shiva Medical Hall, from where it was sold to Shiva Medical Agencies and firms in several states.