Dehradun (NTI): In a major breakthrough against the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has registered a case against six individuals at Dalanwala police station for operating a bogus pharmaceutical company without a drug license or GST registration, raking in crores through illicit trade.
The investigation has uncovered that the accused supplied highly demanded fake medications—such as those for gastro issues, blood pressure, and pain relief—to multiple states across India. The complaint was lodged by STF Sub-Inspector Narottam Bisht at the Dalanwala station.
According to details in the FIR, the fake pharma firm’s owner, a resident of Panipat, Haryana, was arrested some time ago following a probe into the purchase and sale of spurious drugs. A subsequent inspection revealed the company to be entirely fictitious, with no operations at the registered address. Scrutiny of the firm’s bank account, opened on October 18, 2023, without any required licenses, showed transactions exceeding ₹13 crore over the past two years related to the fake drug business.
Notably, no supporting documents—such as bills, GST returns, or invoices—were maintained by the accused or his wife for these dealings. Most transactions involved firms engaged in buying and selling medicines, yet no bills or records for drug procurement or sales were recovered.
The accused couple allegedly funneled illicit funds from drug sales into several suspicious accounts, including those of Shobha Tyagi and Gaurav Tyagi (residents of Roorkee) at Yes Bank on Rajpur Road; Professor Anuradha (resident of Kankhal) at PNB’s Gurukul Kangri branch; Abhinav Sharma (resident of Kankhal, Haridwar) at HDFC Bank; and another account of Gaurav Tyagi in Roorkee. Bank account numbers linked to fake drug trade from this firm have also surfaced in several other states.
This development follows a recent STF raid on a counterfeit drug factory in Selakui, where 11 suspects were arrested and sent to jail—including the main accused in this case.
STF SSP Navneet Bhullar stated, “The probe has exposed that Pradeep Kumar, Shruti, Gaurav Tyagi, Shobha Tyagi, Abhinav Sharma, and Anuradha were involved in the illegal trade of fake medicines across Uttarakhand and other states. Based on SI Narottam Bisht’s report, a case has been registered against the six accused, and the STF is conducting further investigations.”
Authorities have emphasized the dangers of spurious drugs to public health and vowed to intensify crackdowns on such networks to safeguard consumers.
