Karnataka Government Orders SIT Probe Into Fake Drug Network
The Karnataka government has handed over a major fake drug case to a Special Investigation Team after officials uncovered an illegal repackaging and labelling operation.
Karnataka has ordered an SIT probe into the fake drug case.
Officials seized fake medicines and packaging materials.
The fake drug network reportedly involved interstate operations.
SIT To Investigate Major Fake Drug Network In Karnataka
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ordered a Special Investigation Team investigation into a major fake drug network uncovered near Bidadi in Bengaluru South district.
The decision follows a raid by the Drug Enforcement Wing of the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department at a farmhouse in Kurubarahalli village near Bidadi. Officials reportedly found an illegal operation involved in repackaging and relabelling medicines without the required licence.
Senior IPS officer C Vamshikrishna will lead the SIT. The investigation team also includes IPS officers Shivaprakash and Lokesh, along with Assistant Drug Controllers Manjunath Reddy and Namratha Hallur and Drug Inspector Neha Muragi.
The case has already resulted in several arrests. Officials are also investigating allegations that counterfeit injections and tablets were being supplied under the names of reputed multinational pharmaceutical brands. Investigators suspect the operation extended beyond Karnataka and may have had interstate links.
According to information available so far, the alleged kingpin is believed to be outside India. The SIT will now examine the wider network, including the source of the medicines, their distribution channels and the people involved in the operation.
The initial raid was conducted on August 18 at an unlicensed pharmaceutical facility at No 34 in Kurubarahalli village near Bidadi. During the operation, officials seized suspected counterfeit medicines, bulk pharmaceutical stock, packaging equipment, empty vials and fake labels.
The total estimated value of the seized material has been put at around Rs 5.05 crore.
The discovery has raised serious concerns because medicines manufactured or repackaged outside the legal regulatory system can pose significant risks to patients. Authorities are now expected to examine whether the suspected network supplied such products to pharmacies, hospitals or other parts of the market.
Health Minister UT Khader and Home Minister Priyank Kharge had indicated soon after the operation that the government was considering an SIT investigation. The formal order has now been issued, placing the wider investigation under the newly formed team.
The SIT is expected to focus on identifying everyone connected to the alleged operation and determining how the counterfeit products were manufactured, labelled and distributed. Further details are likely to emerge as the investigation progresses.
