FDA Raids in Vasai: Illegal Drug Manufacturing Uncovered

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Maharashtra conducted significant raids at three different locations in Vasai on Thursday. They discovered that Gaharwar Pharma Products Pvt. Ltd. was manufacturing drugs without a proper license. The company had a license for Haryana, which was surrendered in May 2024, but continued operations in Vasai.

The FDA seized Ayurvedic drugs, raw materials, packing materials, labels, and pouches worth around Rs 1.41 crore. The drugs were supposed to be manufactured in Haryana and sold to Onkar Pharma in Jalandhar, Punjab. However, Onkar Pharma was operating in Vasai and distributing drugs from there using Jalandhar addresses.

Further investigation revealed that some drugs had manufacturing addresses of Gaharwar Pharma Pvt. Ltd. in Vasai, even though the license for that location was canceled in 2022. Similar raids were conducted in March 2024 and 2021 at the firm’s sister concern, Rushabh Medicine, where allopathy drugs were found in Ayurvedic medicines, leading to license cancellation and prosecution.

The recent raid was carried out by Drugs Inspectors Yogendra Pol, Nitin Aher, and Kailash Khapekar, with support from Assistant Commissioners and other officials from Thane, Palghar, and Greater Mumbai. The operation was directed by FDA Commissioner Abhimanyu Kale and other senior FDA officials.

Further investigation is ongoing, and appropriate legal action will be taken against the manufacturer after its completion.