Fake Drug Raid Bares Decade-Old Operation

Patna, 7 April 2018: The fake drug racket operating from a rented accommodation in Ashok Nagar, which drug inspectors unearthed on Thursday, was active since 2008, officials said.

Officials found that Sanjay Kumar from Nawada, who is considered the kingpin of the racket, started the business after shifting his family to the first floor of the building.

"The idea of running the trade from the rented accommodation was a well thought-out plan," said drug inspector Sachchidanand Prasad Vikrant. He said Sanjay was on the run. "Sanjay first started living on the first floor of the house. He then shifted his family to the ground floor, where he started the business. After sometime, his family members moved to some other place," Vikrant said.

"Various sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, have been mentioned in the FIR," Vikrant said.

He said the second day's raid was properly videographed as instructed by health minister Mangal Pandey. "We have collected evidence from the house by conducting videography by empanelled videographers with the department as per instruction of the minister," he said.

A question which remains unanswered after the state drug control department's drive is that it does not know from where Sanjay was sourcing the medicines and to which shops it was supplying those after using fake wrappers of the branded pharmaceutical companies.

Among the other drug inspectors who were involved in the raid include Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Dharmendra Kumar, Ashok Kumar Arya, Sanjay Kumar Paswan, Ranjan Kumar and Sandeep Sah.The Telegraph India