The Indian government has launched an inquiry into an allegation that the local pharmaceutical regulator, in return for a bribe, helped switch samples of cough syrups that were linked to the death of at least 70 children in Gambia before the samples were tested in an Indian laboratory, the news agency Reuters said in a report on Wednesday (June 14).
Citing a letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the Indian state of Haryana, the report said a lawyer named Yashpal has accused the state’s Drug Controller Manmohan Taneja of taking a $605,419 bribe from Maiden Pharmaceuticals to help it switch the samples before the laboratory tested them.
Yashpal did not mention where he got this information from in the letter or gave any evidence for his claim about the syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals. Speaking to Reuters, Yashpal said he learned about the bribe allegation from two individuals in India’s pharmaceutical industry, one working with Maiden, but refused to identify them.
‘Want the matter formally investigated’
The lawyer told Reuters that he wanted the matter to be formally investigated, and he was waiting to be asked to submit an affidavit that would trigger such an investigation.
Yashpal further said that he neither represented any pharmaceutical companies nor worked on cases involving compensation. He started looking into Manmohan Taneja after a friend from the pharmaceutical industry alerted him to another case of alleged corruption.
After the Gambia case came into public light, Yashpal said he started probing more closely and spoke with 40 sources across Haryana. During his conversations, the lawyer learnt about the alleged bribe. In the letter, the lawyer made around half a dozen claims of corruption against Taneja including the state’s drug controller taking bribes to approve products and issue drug licences since 2021. However, no evidence was provided to support these claims.
“I want an investigation done by someone outside the health department because Taneja himself is a senior health official. It is a question of India’s reputation,” Yashpal added.
Last month, Taneja’s deputy Lalit Kumar Goel asked Yashpal to come to the regulator’s office “with all relevant documents” to discuss the inquiry, the report said citing another letter. The lawyer said he did not comply with this request as he did not feel comfortable bringing such details to the deputy of someone he accused of corruption
Lawyer’s complaint to be taken forward
Shatrujeet Kapur, director-general of the Haryana ACB, told Reuters that Yashpal’s complaint would be taken forward by the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for health in Haryana, the state’s top health bureaucrat.
The state’s Additional Chief Secretary, G. Anupama, meanwhile, told the news agency that an inquiry was underway.
(With inputs from agencies)
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