After record haul, illegal MTP kit supplier’s house raided in Haryana’s Karnal
Hours after 5,805 medical termination of pregnancy kits seized in Kaithal, Haryana health department, FDA and state narcotics control bureau team raids absconding supplier Ravinder Kumar’s house in Karnal, recovers large quantities of undocumented drugs.
Hours after the largest-ever haul of more than 5,000 abortion kits in Haryana, where the sex ratio at birth is among the worst in the country, a state government team raided the house a medical supplier, Ravinder Kumar, in Karnal on Tuesday night and seized large quantities of undocumented drugs. A search is on for the absconding supplier after CCTV footage shows him and his family members fleeing with large boxes.
A joint team of the health department, food and drug administration (FDA), and Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNBC) raided Ravinder Kumar’s house after 5,805 medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits were recovered in Kaithal on Tuesday morning.
Kaithal-based medical representative Vikas Bansal was arrested and booked after the recovery.
Haryana state drug controller Manmohan Taneja said that during interrogation, Bansal admitted that he had procured the kits from Ravinder Kumar in Karnal. When the joint team, including drug control officers of Kaithal and Karnal, an HSNCB sub-inspector and the Kunjpura senior medical officer, reached Ravinder Kumar’s house at Shiv Colony in Karnal in the evening, they found it locked. Ravinder was untraceable and his mobile phone was switched off, a member of the raiding team said.
According to the food and drug administration (FDA), the team questioned the tenant, Abhishek Sharma, who disclosed that the premises, comprising two rooms and a kitchen, belongs to Ravinder’s brother Yashvinder. “Yashvinder turned up and said that his brother was unable to come, but did not give any reason. The lock to the premises was opened in the presence of two witnesses. During searches, the team found huge quantities of unaccounted homoeopathic and allopathic drugs,” the FDA official said.
When questioned, Yashvinder failed to produce any drug sale licence or purchase record of the stock of medicines seized.
Sources said CCTV footage in the area showed Ravinder Kumar fleeing the premises with large boxes. He was accompanied by his family members.
The authorities are now on the lookout of the absconding suspect.
The items seized under Section 22 (1)(c) or (cc) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act are 1,000 tablets of Vigueur (Sildenafil Citrate 100mg), 258 tablets of TrustPostpil 72 (Levonorgestrel), 60 pills of Unwanted-72 (Levonorgestrel), 216 Manforce 100 (Sildenafil) and different quantities of German-made Calcium Phosphorica homeopathic medicine.
On Tuesday, the team had seized 5,805 MTP kits worth ₹25 lakh of different batches and manufacturers. Of them, 5,745 kits were sealed and seized, and 60 were taken for sampling.
According to the health officials, each MTP kit contains a Mifepristone (200mg) tablet and four Misoprostol (200mcg) tablets, both are used for terminating pregnancies and can only be stored or prescribed by registered medical practitioners and that too at authorised medical facilities.
Two other types of drugs, Unwanted 72 (660 tablets), and Manforce-100 (3,840 tablets), were also recovered from Bansal’s house.
