A gang involved in selling counterfeit blood pressure medication branded as Telma AM was busted following a raid by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with two men arrested and medicines worth Rs 8.94 lakh seized.
The accused, Pankaj Radheshyam Upadhyay, 33, a distributor and medical representative, was allegedly selling fake Telma AM tablets (Telmisartan 40 mg and Amlodipine 5 mg) under the license name “Shriram Pharma”, falsely claiming them to be from the original manufacturer.
“Upadhyay was aware that the medicines were counterfeit and potentially harmful,” an official said, “and that their consumption could pose a serious health risk, especially for patients suffering from hypertension.”
Acting on specific intelligence, the FDA conducted a raid on January 20 and seized 2,795 strips of the fake tablets, valued at Rs 8,94,400. A case was registered at Manpada Police Station, and Upadhyay was arrested the following day, January 21.
During the investigation, police discovered that the counterfeit stock had allegedly been supplied to Upadhyay by Bivek Ajaykumar Rai, 35, who was later traced and arrested on February 16.
Authorities stated that further investigation is underway to trace the source of manufacturing and determine whether the fake medicines were distributed to other regions in the state.
