North India Statesman
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News India Live, Digital Desk: Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation in a major case related to ‘Coldrif’ cough syrup. In this case, ED has now raided the premises of Ghaziabad’s pharmaceutical company ‘Shrisan Pharma’ and people associated with it. This action is related to allegations of manufacturing and selling fake and adulterated cough syrup, money laundering and bribery, which was a direct threat to the health of the people.
Actually, the roots of this entire story are many years old. The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested Affaq Khan and some others in February 2024 on charges of manufacturing fake and adulterated medicines. Earlier, in October 2023, raids were conducted against distributors of fake medicines in Baghpat on the complaint of a drug controller of Haryana, when fake batches of Coldriff cough syrup were found.
ED alleges that Shrisan Pharma director Affaq Khan is the main conspirator of this entire illegal business. Investigation has revealed that he has earned around Rs 250 crore by manufacturing and selling fake cough syrup, especially ‘Coldrif’. These syrups were actually adulterated and fake, which were sold in states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Delhi, especially in poor and rural areas. These syrups also contained intoxicating substance like codeine, which should not be sold as per the rules.
According to ED, Afaq Khan invested this illegal money in many companies and also obtained licenses to manufacture medicines by paying bribes. During the raid, ED searched the premises of Shreesan Pharma in Ghaziabad and Baghpat and the premises of Affaq Khan, Javed Akhtar (who is reportedly the director of this company) and their employees, such as Irfan Qureshi. This included both their homes and business places.
During this period, the investigating officers have collected many important evidences. They have seized mobile phones, hard disks and some important documents. Apart from this, Rs 88.5 lakh in cash has also been recovered and documents related to property worth approximately Rs 1.50 crore have been found. ED has also frozen bank accounts worth Rs 91 lakh and fixed deposits worth Rs 14.5 lakh, thus totaling assets worth Rs 3.4 crore have been seized or marked.
In the investigation, ED has also found six fake companies and 24 such bank accounts, which were being used to divert this black money. 11 properties were also purchased with this money. ED’s further investigation is ongoing, and it is expected that soon there may be more big revelations in this case, which will help in curbing such crimes.
