The Congress in Puducherry has requested Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan to initiate administrative steps for the transfer of investigation of the fake drug manufacturing case, from the Puducherry Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A delegation of leaders led by former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Saturday (December 6, 2025) met Mr. Kailashnathan and submitted a memorandum requesting him to transfer the counterfeit medicine manufacturing case to the CBI to ensure a “free and fair” inquiry.
The memorandum stated that the CB-CID had registered the case based on a complaint filed by Sun Pharma, alleging that counterfeit medicines were being manufactured and supplied under its name across the country. After the case was registered, searches were conducted by the police at a godown at the Mettupalayam Industrial Estate.
The searches led to the seizure of medicines with Sun Pharma’s label, worth around ₹40 crore. Inquiries by the police revealed that a person named Raja, hailing from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and currently residing in Reddiayarpalayam here, was allegedly behind the illegal business. The drugs confiscated from the godown were meant for the treatment of blood pressure and diabetes, among others, the memorandum said.
The manufacturing unit was functioning for almost four and a half years without any permissions from the Puducherry government, and lacked GST registration. Two persons, Rana and Meyiyappan, were arrested during the searches. The interrogation of the two accused led to the busting of another fake unit, Larven Pharmaceutical, at Thirubhuvanai. The police seized fake medicines worth around ₹450 crore from the unit at Thirubhuvanai, the memorandum noted.
“The unit was purchased by Raja from Larven, and he was running it without a valid permit for the past four months. More than ₹2,000 crore worth of drugs were manufactured and sold under the names of pharma brands across the country. The accused Raja has got the backing of those in power, and he was being protected from being arrested. The police officers are being threatened when they carry out inspections,” the memorandum alleged.
Shortly after submitting the memorandum, Mr. Narayanasamy told The Hindu that only a CBI probe could bring out the whole truth and ensure that culprits are brought to justice, as fake drugs were sold in several States, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
“We have asked the Lt. Governor to appoint a committee of competent authorities to find the availability of fake drugs in retail pharma outlets in Puducherry. The Lt. Governor was positive in his attitude towards our demands,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.
On Speaker’s allegations
When asked about the allegations levelled against him by Speaker R. Selvam on the issue of fake drugs, the former Chief Minister said the government in Puducherry was run by the AINRC-BJP combine, and not by the Congress.
“The Speaker himself is part of the ruling establishment. They can easily launch an inquiry and file a case against me and my family members. We are not even in power at the Centre; so, what prevents him from holding an inquiry against me? I have already challenged him to order a probe against me and my family members. We [the Congress] will wait for a week; otherwise, we will approach the court seeking a CBI probe into the issue,” he said.
The Congress leader said Chief Minister N. Rangasamy cannot absolve himself of responsibilities as far as the drug issue was concerned, as he was in charge of the Health portfolio.
Published – December 06, 2025 04:05 pm IST
