Spurious drug racket busted in Baddi; YL Pharma partner held

In yet another alarming case of drug manufacturing under the guise of a ghost firm, the State Drugs Control Administration (DCA) arrested Akhilesh Kumar, partner of M/s YL Pharma, for allegedly producing spurious medicines at Baddi. Kumar was taken into custody on Saturday evening and booked under stringent provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Drug Inspectors Suresh Chauhan and Vikas Thakur launched action after uncovering substantial evidence of counterfeit drug production inside the unit. Their investigation began following a tip-off from the Rajasthan Drugs Control Administration, which reported that a drug sample — Levocetirizine tablets (Wincet-L, Batch No. YLT25023) manufactured by YL Pharma — contained zero active ingredient. The sample was declared spurious and not of standard quality.

According to State Drugs Controller Dr Manish Kapoor, the firm was caught manufacturing drugs illegally during a surprise inspection on November 1, despite a stop-manufacturing order issued earlier on March 29. A show-cause notice was served on November 3, but the company’s response was found unsatisfactory, prompting authorities to cancel its manufacturing licence the same day.

Further investigation revealed that Pregabalin capsules (Pregabaryl-300) recovered from the premises bore the name of a non-existent manufacturer in Sikkim, confirming the production of spurious medicines. Officials also seized large quantities of tablets, capsules, packing materials and stereos. The firm failed to produce mandatory batch manufacturing records and test-and-analysis reports, pointing to severe violations of statutory requirements.