Chandigarh, July 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday launched coordinated raids at four locations in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Barnala, and Mumbai, as part of a money laundering probe into the illegal sale of de-addiction drugs by private rehabilitation centres in Punjab.
The case centres around Dr Amit Bansal, who owned 22 de-addiction centres across Punjab and was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) in January. He faces multiple FIRs for allegedly diverting Buprenorphine/Naloxone (BNX)—a controlled drug used for managing withdrawal symptoms—into the open market for abuse.
“These medications, meant exclusively for in-patient treatment of addicts, were being illegally sold and misused, posing grave public health risks,” an ED official said.
The raids also target Rusan Pharma Limited, a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company and the primary manufacturer of BNX tablets supplied to Bansal’s centres.
According to the ED, Bansal’s operations were aided by Roopinder Kaur, a Ludhiana-based government drug inspector, who allegedly manipulated inspection reports to cover up large-scale pilferage. In one inspection, while 4,610 tablets were found missing, Kaur’s report mentioned only 4,000—a deliberate move to shield Bansal, officials said.
Following his arrest, the Punjab health department suspended licences of all 22 centres on January 13.
The Vigilance Bureau FIR also flagged deeper irregularities:
- In 2023, an inquiry initiated by then Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Jaspreet Singh revealed misappropriation of BNX tablets from Bansal’s Nakodar centre.
- An audit showed that 1.44 lakh tablets of Addnok—a brand of BNX—were never returned to Rusan Pharma.
- There was no explanation for 1,000 missing Buprisan-N tablets and 96 other narcotic pills.
- 102 patient files showed mismatched or suspect signatures, and 154 records had no signatures at all, especially those for ‘non-opioid users’.
In April 2024, Patiala police registered another case against Bansal under the NDPS Act, and Sections 336 (endangering life), and 340(2) (forgery of electronic records) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the illegal sale of 31,000 narcotic tablets.
Further charges under the Indian Penal Code include Sections 465, 467, 468, 471, 201, 381, and 120-B, covering forgery, destruction of evidence, theft, and conspiracy.
Officials say the scale of the scam suggests an organised network involving medical professionals and regulatory lapses. “We are following the money trail, and more arrests could follow,” an ED official confirmed.
The investigation underscores growing concerns over the misuse of de-addiction infrastructure to facilitate a new form of drug abuse—where legally prescribed recovery medication is being diverted for illegal consumption and sale.
