‘Unjust and unlawful’: Tricity chemists slam Narcotics Control Bureau over arrest of 3 Panchkula wholesalers

Outrage erupted across the tricity today as chemists shut shops and took to the streets against the alleged illegal and arbitrary arrest of three medicine wholesalers by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Members of the District Chemists Association, Panchkula, gathered near the Sector 7-8-17-18 roundabout in Panchkula as a mark of protest. Extending support, the members of the Chandigarh Chemists Association and Mohali Chemists Association, too, shut shops for two hours and staged demonstrations near Matka Chowk (Chandigarh) and Phase7-8 light point (Mohali), respectively.

‘No communication about licence restrictions’

The said wholesalers were arrested for supplying certain controlled medicines to a retail shop in Pinjore, which possessed only a partial drug licence. However, association members said, the restrictions on the said licence were never communicated to the suppliers — neither by the Drug Department nor by the purchaser — leading to unintentional compliance issues.

The associations condemned the “unjustified” detention of these trade members, who they said had been in custody for the past two weeks without fair cause. Demanding immediate release of the arrested wholesalers, the associations urged the authorities to ensure due process and transparent communication regarding licensing restrictions in the future.

NCB crackdown unjustified, allege chemists

Earlier on Monday, the District Chemists Association, Panchkula, (DCAP) held a press conference at Aggarwal Bhawan, in which office-bearers denounced the NCB’s crackdown as “unjustified” and “lacking in legal basis".

Mohinder Kakkar, president of DCAP, along with patron BB Singhal, stated, “This protest is to assert that we have always followed the law. The arrested wholesalers were fully cooperative with the NCB during the probe, yet they have been behind bars for 12 days, without clarity, in the Ambala jail.”

Amendment to drug sale licences

The chemists’ association contended that all seven wholesalers under lens were operating under valid licences issued under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Rules, 1945. The controversy centres around the amendment to drug sale licences — Forms 20 and 21 — by the SDCO-cum-Licensing Authority, Ambala, which the DCAP claims was done without due legal process or public notification.

As a result, many chemists have been forced to remove essential medicines like Tramadol, Tapentadol and Pregabalin from shelves, causing shortages for patients suffering from psychiatric, neurological and cancer-related conditions. Adding to the pressure, the DCAP highlighted that bank accounts of the seven wholesalers were frozen and that there was no mechanism for chemists to verify partial licence amendments.

Kin of arrested wholesalers speak out

Family members of the arrested wholesalers also attended the event. Shubham, son of Sanjeev Kumar, one of the arrested chemists, said, “We have been licensed drug sellers for over 30 years. My father is now in jail just for selling medicines to someone who had a partial licence — which no one had informed us about. The buyer is out on bail, while wholesalers are being punished. It’s heartbreaking.”

The matter is scheduled for hearing on July 23 in Panchkula Sessions Court, where the bail plea for the arrested wholesalers will be heard.

India