Shimla, Nov 25 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable assets worth Rs 1 crore belonging to Neeraj Bhatia, Managing Partner of M/s Vidit Healthcare and president of the Sirmour Drug Manufacturing Association.
The action, initiated by the ED’s Jammu Sub-Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), follows allegations of illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrups into narcotics supply chains.
According to the ED, Bhatia and co-accused Niket Kansal are under investigation for channeling large quantities of Corex and other codeine formulations to entities that operated outside the legal drug distribution chain.
These activities came to light after the Jammu Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) registered a case against Vidit Healthcare and its associates for diverting codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS) between 2018 and 2024.
The ED has indicated that the illegally diverted stock amounted to over Rs 16 crore, with gross criminal proceeds estimated at Rs 2.92 crore.
Earlier this year, ED teams conducted searches at the premises of Bhatia and Kansal, recovering cash and jewellery valued at Rs 1.93 crore. The latest attachment includes industrial land owned by Vidit Healthcare in Panipat, Haryana. Officials said further investigation is underway.
This action comes less than 24 hours after authorities unearthed another case involving the arrest of the owner of a Haryana-based pharmaceutical company for supplying duplicate medicines to Ladakh using forged licenses of a Himachal Pradesh firm.
That case, linked to a Sirmour-based healthcare company, exposed the circulation of substandard antibiotics such as Amoxicillin and Cefixime.
The two back-to-back actions have intensified concerns regarding regulatory lapses in Asia’s largest pharmaceutical hub located in Baddi–Barotiwala–Nalagarh (BBN).
Multiple FIRs have been lodged in recent years against units producing substandard or adulterated medicines, several of which are alleged to have caused serious health complications and even fatalities.
Industry observers warn that poor oversight, coupled with entrenched corruption in licensing and inspection systems, has enabled rogue units to flourish.
With the latest ED attachment, enforcement agencies appear to be widening their scrutiny of financial and criminal irregularities across the region’s pharmaceutical sector.
ED attaches Rs 1 cr assets of Neeraj Bhatia in Codeine diversion case
