A former registrar of the Delhi Pharmacy Council (DPC), Kuldeep Singh, was among 40 individuals arrested as the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) uncovered a fraudulent pharmacy registration racket. The scam is believed to have resulted in the illegal approval of nearly 5,000 unqualified pharmacists over the past five years.
In addition to Singh, the arrests included a DPC clerk, six touts, three employees from pharmacy colleges, the owner of a printing shop, and 35 individuals who were fraudulently operating as pharmacists with forged credentials.
The multi-layered racket, which allegedly involved a network of individuals, exposed a deep-seated nexus facilitating the fake registration of pharmacists through forged documents, officials said. According to Madhur Verma, the joint commissioner of police and chief of the ACB, the scam posed a significant risk to public health.
The investigation began on January 30, 2023, after a complaint from the deputy secretary of Delhi’s health department. The complaint alleged that Kuldeep Singh, who was the DPC registrar, had approved fraudulent registrations for pharmacists based on forged documents. Officials discovered that this allowed unqualified individuals to operate pharmacies in the national capital, threatening the safety of public health.
From March 2020 to August 2023, Singh is said to have approved at least 4,928 fake pharmacists, and his role in the scam became more evident as the 14-month investigation unfolded. Even after being removed from his position in August 2023, Singh allegedly continued to approve fraudulent applications via his personal email. He registered 232 more individuals before his final suspension in September 2023.
At the core of the scam was a private firm hired in July 2020 to manage online pharmacy registrations. Shockingly, the firm was hired without following a formal tendering process, violating standard operating procedures, according to Verma.
Investigators found that applicants had submitted fake diplomas and training certificates, which were “verified” through forged emails, with the help of employees at several pharmacy colleges. Bribes were funneled through a key intermediary, Sanjay Kumar, who acted as the middleman between the DPC and the colleges.
The investigation revealed that many of the pharmacists and chemists operating in Delhi had bogus registrations, with some individuals having no formal education or training in pharmacy. Some had not even completed their matriculation, which raised serious concerns about the potential risks to public health.
A case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 469, 471, 120B, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Authorities expect more arrests as the investigation continues.
