3 held for fake medicine samples

MEERUT, SEPT 2015: In a shocking revelation made by the drugs department, 20% of the total samples collected from medical stores and medicine manufacturing units in Meerut in the last five months have been found to be fake.

Of the total 80 samples collected from April to August, 12 are fake drugs.

After the sample report was received by the Department on Thursday, an FIR was registered at the Inchauli police station and the owners of three medical stores were arrested.

While seven medicine samples were collected from Chauhan Medical Store in Lawad area of the city, two were taken from Kartik laboratory, a medicine manufacturing unit.

Apart from the fake antibiotics, three of the six samples collected from a food supplement shop in Meerut's Mohkampur were also found to be fake. The food supplements contained steroids and other drugs, which caused hunger and thereby increased weight.

Giving details, Drugs Inspector Sandeep Chaudhary told TOI, "We collected samples of medicines and food supplements from various units in Meerut in the past five months. Twelve of them are found to be fake."

"The fake antibiotics are of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate, commonly used to fight bacterial infection," he added.

Chaudhary further said the Drugs department would collect more samples from medical stores to detect fake drugs.

"There are chances that these medicines are being taken to Uttar Pradesh from Dehradun and Roorkee," claimed Chaudhary.