Karunanidhi warns stern action on distribution of expired drugs; 7 arrested

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has issued a stern warning to those involved in production and distribution of fake and expired drugs, after holding a high-level meeting the city even as the Chennai Corporation and Police got their act together and decided to crack down on the offenders.

The scam came to light recently after a three-year-old girl died in the city after consuming a drug that was past its expiry date.

City police commissioner T Rajendran formed three special teams and picked up for interrogation seven persons in connection with repackaging and selling of expired drugs in Chennai. Their arrest has exposed another shocking route through which such medicines come back into market. The Corporation has ordered its health wing to keep a close watch on pharma warehouses.

Two of the accused told the police that they have been picking discarded packs of such medicines from the Kodungaiyur dumping yard and re-labelling them before selling it to agents.

The high-level meeting Karunanidhi had with top officials of police and health departments, including Chief Secretary K S Sripathy, Health Secretary V K Subburaj, DGP Letika Saran, ADGP (Law and Order) Radhakrishnan and Drug Control Authority Director M Bhaskaran took stock of the situation. And the CM has expressed there is need for creating awareness among the public on the issue.

Stern action would be taken against those who were involved directly or indirectly in the crime, Karunanidhi said. Meanwhile, the Corporation tried to shrug off charges of lethargy in monitoring the dumping of pharmaceuticals at Kodungaiyur yard.

Officials have been directed to frequently monitor the movement of drugs. About 15 major stockists are now under civic body’s scanner, corporation source said.

The controlling the drugs and verifying the expiry dates are sole responsibility of the Controller of Drugs, whereas the civic body’s health department was handling the issue under the Public Health Act, the official said. He ruled out that the Corporation dumping yard alone could be a source for expired medicines, the private firms themselves handled a major part of the expired drug disposal through incinerators.

Meanwhile, employees of Meenakshi Sundaram’s firm, who has sought anticipatory bail in connection with the case, told reporters that the company was not involved in selling expired drugs.

The arrested seven persons are: Sumitha Rani (29), her mother-in-law Jagadhambal (50) of Muthamizh Nagar in Kodungaiyur, agent Thambirajan (50) of Choolaimedu, Govindan (28) of Koyambedu, Vijayakumar (34), Ramakrishnan (35) of Choolaimedu and Kirubakaran (30) of Surapet near Red Hills. Govindan, Ramakrishnan, Vijayakumar and Kirubakaran are employed in a pharmacy called Meena Medical Centre owned by Meenakshi Sundaram, who is absconding.

The police are also on the hunt for Rani's husband Ravi alias Prabhakaran (32), who has gone into hiding after the arrests. Rani and Jagadhambal has confessed that they engaged children to collect the medicines dumped in the yard.

- Asian Tribune -