The raid of the offices of Karnataka Drug Control department by the state Lok Ayukta on March 25 and the subsequent revelations by the officials during interrogations are truly shocking. During the raid, conducted at five sections of the drug testing laboratory attached to the DC's office on that day, Lok Ayukta found that DC had cleared 259 products of "not of standard quality" including several spurious products for marketing. These products including several essential drugs like dexamethazone injections were already in the market and were also being procured by government hospitals. Preliminary investigations by Lok Ayukta have revealed that a well organised system of bribe taking from pharma companies and trading establishments have been in place for years in the state. Different rates of bribes for issuing manufacturing and trading licences, for inspection of manufacturing facilities and for routine inspection of trading premises have been fixed. Allowing pharma companies to sell price-controlled drugs much above the NPPA notified prices by marginally altering the composition has been another way of collecting higher amounts of bribes by the officials. Interrogations of some senior officials by the Lok Ayukta also brought to light that DC used to collect bribes even from his own senior officers for posting in certain locations. The DC, the alleged kingpin of this racket, has been missing shortly after the first day of the raid of the office. The questioning of DC by Lok Ayukta, expected in a few days, may throw more light on this saga of deceit.
A massive raid of the office of a state drug authority and investigation of this kind have never been ordered by any state government so far. Karnataka government proved that it is bold enough to do that. The level of corruption in drug control administrations in other states is no less and could only be much higher. Perhaps the worst offence any state drug control authority could do on its people is to encourage the manufacture and sale of spurious drugs. What damages the state approved spurious drugs that may have caused to the people of Karnataka is difficult to gauge at this stage. But, this 'state approved' spurious drugs manufacturing and sale has been taking place in Karnataka at a time when the Central government, the drug industry and NGOs are all set to take on spurious drug manufacturers and traders on a national level. The appointment of Mashelkar Committee and its time bound action plans are all intended to find some effective and quick solutions to this menace. If any national drive against spurious drugs has to be successful, what is to be done first is to clean up the state drug authorities. Without the cooperation and active support of state drug authorities, no national strategy to counter spurious drugs will ever be successful.