17-07-2025
FIR against 7 for supply of spurious drugs to civic body
VASAI-VIRAR: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Palghar, filed an FIR at Waliv police station last week against seven persons for supplying spurious antibiotics to the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC).
The FDA had collected 10 random samples of antibiotic Cefixime 200mg on Jan 22 from the Mother and Child Care Centre in Waliv, Vasai (East), in the presence of the VVCMC officials.
The Mumbai office of the FDA, which analysed these samples, reported on March 28 that the sample did not give IP identification test for the presence of Cefixime. "Therefore the drug is declared as spurious vide section 17-B of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940," the report said.
By the time the VVCMC was informed, it had already distributed the drugs across its medical outlets like hospitals, OPDs and PHCs. The VVCMC clarified that only one specific lot of 70,000 strips was spurious and the rest of the medicines were safe to consume. No patient has complained of any medical complications after consuming the antibiotics from the batch and no other batch has any problem and are safe to be consumed, said the VVCMC.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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When the FDA reached the doorsteps of the medicine supply contractor, Pranik Enterprises, to check the remaining stock from the same batch, even it had exhausted the lot. It was then revealed that the contractor had supplied 70,000 strips of Cefixime antibiotic to the VVCMC which turned out to be spurious as per the FDA sample analysis report.
These medicines are distributed free to the citizens. Upon questioning it was revealed that the contractor had purchased these medicines from a vendor, who had purchased these from another vendor, and so on.
"We have filed the FIR against seven accused under sections of cheating, forgery, knowingly selling medicines as a different drug or preparation and the Section 17-b of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940," a police officer said.
"One of the accused, Vijay Chaudhary, who is into the business of manufacturing drugs, is currently lodged in a jail in Nagpur under similar offence," the official said.
VVCMC chief medical officer Dr Bhakti Chaudhary said: "The moment we came to know about the FIR we have cancelled this contractor's tender and have stopped taking medicines from him and have stopped distribution of medicines taken from him."
