Bengaluru, August 20: In a follow-up to the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration’s bust of an unlicensed pharmaceutical repacking and relabelling unit near Bidadi, where stock estimated at Rs 4.91 crore was seized, the Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the criminal case registered at Tavarekere Police Station and other related cases.
The government order, issued on August 20, refers to Crime No. 266/2026 of Tavarekere Police Station, Bengaluru Rural district, registered under Sections 276 and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 51 and 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957, as amended in 1984 and 1994.
The development follows the FDA Drug Enforcement Wing’s August 18 inspection at a farmhouse at No. 34, Kurubarakerehalli, Bidadi, in Bengaluru South district. The department had said the premises was operating without a licence and was allegedly being used to procure lower-cost medicines from other states, fill them into new vials and relabel them to mimic expensive multinational and imported drug brands. The seized inventory was valued at Rs 4,91,49,575. Samples were sent for laboratory testing and a police complaint was lodged with Tavarekere Police Station.
The SIT will be headed by N. Vamshikrishna, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, West, Bengaluru City. Shiv Prakash Devaraju, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru; Lokesh B. Jagalasar, IPS, Superintendent of Police, CID, Bengaluru; Manjunath Reddy, Assistant Drug Controller, Bengaluru; Namrata Hallur, Assistant Drug Controller, Bengaluru Rural district; and Neha Murgi, Drug Inspector, Bengaluru Rural district, are members of the team.
The order authorises the SIT to investigate the Tavarekere case and related criminal cases, including similar cases registered at other police stations in Karnataka that are connected with the matter.
The Director General and Inspector General of Police has been directed to transfer the investigation of the Tavarekere case and connected criminal cases registered elsewhere in Karnataka to the SIT and issue necessary instructions.
The SIT will be provided necessary infrastructure and other facilities at the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner’s office and the Bengaluru Rural district police office. The Bengaluru City Police Commissioner and Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police have been directed to extend the required assistance.
The team will function under the supervision of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka, and the Director General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Bengaluru. It will submit periodic investigation progress reports to the senior authorities concerned.
After completing the investigation into the Tavarekere case and related cases, the SIT has been directed to submit its final investigation report before the competent court and a detailed report to the state government.
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