Paonta Sahib's pharma firm under scrutiny for illicit codeine syrup sales raided by ED

A team from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided a Paonta Sahib-based pharmaceutical firm for its alleged involvement in a money laundering case.

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Vidit Healthcare, located in Paonta Sahib, is under scrutiny by the central agency for allegedly selling codeine syrup illegally.

A police officer confirmed the ED raid.

The ED had previously requested details of properties owned by the firm and five other individuals from the district administration in December 2024.

The Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner was instructed to provide property details of Vidit Healthcare, Paonta Sahib, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as per a December 7, 2024, communication.

The ED sought details of properties owned by Vidit Healthcare, a partnership firm, at Kishenpura village. This included properties owned by Neeraj Bhatia and his wife Mehak Bhatia; Naveen Bhatia; and Neti Seain Bhatia and his wife Nirmal Bhatia. According to inquiries conducted by revenue officials, the firm owns 6.04 bigha land at khasra number 149 in the name of Neeraj Bhatia. Two additional plots, totaling 2.04 bigha and 1.02 bigha, are registered in the name of Naveen Bhatia at Kishenpura village.

All these properties are now under ED scrutiny. Significantly, in August 2024, the Jammu-based team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Neeraj Bhatia, one of the owners of Vidit Healthcare, Paonta Sahib, for the illegal sale of codeine syrup.

The NCB seized 33.980 kg of codeine-based cough syrup, 900 tablets of alprazolam, 56 capsules of tramadol, 210 tablets of lorazepam, 570 tablets of clobazam, and Rs 15.03 lakh in cash from Bhatia's residence and his associate's home in Delhi last year.

The Act allows for the freezing, seizing, and confiscation of properties derived from the illicit sale and purchase of drugs. Consequently, the NCB has also requested property details from the revenue authorities of Paonta Sahib. The manufacturing firm has been operational for over a decade.