Delhi man arrested for selling spurious drug to cancer patient

The case is a first-of-its-kind since the arrest has been made by Gurugram drugs control officer and not by the police; as per a 2020 Supreme Court judgement, a police officer cannot prosecute offenders in regard to such offences.

Haryana food and drug administration (FDA) officials on Friday arrested a Delhi resident for allegedly selling a spurious drug to a Panipat resident admitted in a Gurugram hospital.

The accused Sandeep Bhui allegedly sold 10 vials of a spurious drug to the complainant’s brother, who is a cancer patient getting treatment at a private hospital in Gurugram. (HT File)

State drugs controller Manmohan Taneja said that Panipat resident, Rohit Kansal, had given a complaint that vials of Defitelio infusion concentrate, used intravenously, were supplied by Delhi resident Sandeep Bhui which were spurious. Kansal said that 10 vials were supplied for his brother, a cancer patient getting treatment at a private hospital in Gurugram for ₹2.5 lakhs.

Subsequently, Gurugram drugs control officer Amandeep Chauhan, assisted by police officials, arrested Bhui. Investigations by the drugs control officer revealed that Bhui was neither able to produce the sale invoice of the product nor a valid retail sale drug licence as required under Section 80 (c) of the Act.

An email was also sent by the Gurugram drugs control officer to Italy-based Gentium SRL, the manufacturer of Difitelio infusion concentrate, to verify the credentials of vials. In its response, head of quality, Gentium SRL, Manuela Camisa wrote that Defitelio (batch number 19G19A) reported by the Haryana FDA is not an authentic batch and should not be used. “The same batch was identified in UAE in November 2022 and was offered in March 2023 in Kyrgizstan. This was notified to WHO and a rapid medical alert was issued on their website,” Camisa wrote.

The state drugs controller said that it thus became evident that the product fell under Section 17-B (e) of the Act – a spurious drug purported to be a product of a manufacturer but which is actually not.

Taneja said the case is a first-of-its-kind since the arrest has been made by Gurugram drugs control officer under drugs and cosmetics Act and not by the police. He said that as per a 2020 Supreme Court judgement, a police officer cannot prosecute offenders in regard to such offences. “A police officer cannot register an FIR under Section 154 of the CrPC, in regard to cognisable offences under Chapter IV of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and cannot investigate such offences under the CrPC. Only persons mentioned in Section 32 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act are entitled to do the same. There is no bar to the police officer, however, to investigate and prosecute the person where he has committed a cognisable offence under any other law,” the SC had said.