Sterilisation deaths: Drug company had faced action earlier

RAIPUR: Mahawar Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, the supplier of allegedly substandard medicines given to the victims of sterilisation camps in Bilaspur district, had earlier faced action for poor quality of its products.

In 2010-11, the Food and Drug Administration had cancelled 'product permission' of six drugs manufactured by the company for being substandard, a senior official of FDA told PTI.

Subsequently, in 2012, two cases were filed against the company in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate here.

In the state Assembly, replying to a question about action taken against drug sellers found guilty of selling duplicate generic drugs, health minister Amar Agarwal had stated on March 21, 2012 that Mahawar Pharma Pvt Ltd was among the eight drug manufacturers against whom court cases had been filed.

The opposition Congress has questioned the decision to continue procurement of drugs from the company despite its track record.

However, the FDA official said that the ban was limited to only a certain drugs, and that too for a limited period.

"Ciprocin-500 (used in the sterilisation camps) had never been banned earlier," he said.

Ramesh Mahawar, director of the company, and his son Sumit were arrested on Thursday and all its products were banned following the deaths of 13 women who underwent surgeries at the sterilisation camps last week.

According to Principal Secretary, Health, Dr Alok Shukla, the women were given medicines contaminated with zinc phosphide, a rodenticide, which probably led to the tragedy.

The company, in a statement late last night, however pointed out that the drugs used at the sterilisation camps had been distributed across the state, while the deaths occurred only in Bilaspur district. It also denied that it uses zinc phosphide to kill rats at its factory.