SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to the state government and former Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma regarding the spurious drugs scam in the valley.
Sharma is at present the minister for Public Health and Engineering.
A Division Bench of Justices Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Ali Mohammad Magray has also directed the Inspector General of Police (Crime Branch) to submit a status report on the investigations.
The Doctors’ Association of Kashmir (DAK) had filed a Public Interest Litigation seeking probe into the scandal.
The case has been listed for hearing tomorrow, the Press Trust of India reports.
The scandal has caused great concern in the valley. Authorities formed a high-level committee to probe into it.
So far three people – owners of a Jammu-based drug distributing company – have been arrested by the crime branch of the police.
Also, a special court has issued non-bailable warrants against fifteen people including owners of pharmaceutical companies of Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh.
Sham Lal Sharma has denied involvement in the scam saying he was being maligned. But the DAK has demanded of him that he resign on moral grounds. The spurious drugs were purchased during his tenure.
The doctors body has also sought a compensation for the patients who suffered due to spurious drugs.
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