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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Vigilance probe into fake drugs case

Correspondent

High Court reopens old case in which five persons died in SCB hospital allegedly due to fake saline

CUTTACK: The High Court has ordered a vigilance probe into the supply of fake drugs in government hospitals and reopened an old case dating back to the year 2000 in which at least three women and two children died due to spurious saline at SCB Medical College and Hospital here.

The fake drugs issue that was making news across the State also found its echo in the courtroom. The Bench of Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice Indrajit Mohanty took a judicial note of the sensitive issue when several members of the Bar complained that genuine medicines were now not available to ordinary persons in the State.

Taking note of the fact that the question of fake medicines, which was causing anxiety among the public, had been going on for quite some time, the Bench said:

“We do not know whether those who supplied the saline in question (during 2000) are still supplying the same to different hospitals or not.

It appears that no steps have been taken against the suppliers despite the fact that the fake saline was substandard.”

PIL

It may be recalled here that after the death of patients in the Gynaecology Department of the Cuttack hospital in August 2000 allegedly due to spurious saline, a PIL was filed in the high court with a prayer to direct a CBI probe into the cause of death of the patients and to unearth the racket in supply and purchase of fake drugs.

In response to the PIL, the State Government had given an affidavit to the court in September 2000, along with a report of an expert committee.

But the high court was recently told that the expert committee report was “incongruous” because the saline in question passed all pharmacopoeia parameters, except a single test of bacterial endotoxin, as pointed by the government analyst (CDL Calcutta).

Official summoned

The court, however, on Tuesday summoned State Director of Vigilance Gopal Chandra Nanda (IPS) to the court.

It asked him to personally make a thorough probe into the whole matter, including the seven-year-old case and submit a report by October 30.

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