Pune: Gangadham Area Medical Store Caught For Selling Fake Alburel Injections Worth ₹4.5 Lakh By FDA
Pune: Gangadham Area Medical Store Caught For Selling Fake Alburel Injections Worth ₹4.5 Lakh By FDA
Pune, September 18, 2025: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with Pune City Police, has busted a major fake drug racket, seizing counterfeit Alburel (Human Normal Albumin IP) injections worth over ₹4.5 lakh in Pune, Mumbai, and Raigad. Multiple raids led to the arrest of suppliers linked to Delhi and Chandigarh.
The crackdown began when FDA drug inspectors Shrutika Jadhav and Vijay Nangre inspected Shriram Healthcare at Gangadham Chowk, Pune. Samples of Alburel (100 ml, Batch No. AM20025077) were taken after officials found the stock suspicious. Saurabh Naik, General Manager (Quality Assurance) at Reliance Life Sciences, Nashik, who was present during the inspection, confirmed doubts that the medicines were counterfeit.
Further investigation revealed that Shriram Healthcare had procured the drugs from R.S.L. Pharma, Sadashiv Peth, Pune. A raid there uncovered 39 bottles of Alburel (Batch No. AN20G25084). While samples of four bottles were collected, the remaining stock worth ₹3.41 lakh was seized. R.S.L. Pharma had sourced its supplies from N.R.A.X. Pharma, Sion (Mumbai) and R.R.T. Pharma, Kamothe (Raigad).
On September 13 and 15, drug inspectors Prakash Koli and Rahul Karande raided R.R.T. Pharma in Kamothe. Proprietor Ritesh Thombre failed to provide purchase or sales records, and a police-assisted search of his residence also yielded no stock. In a written statement, Thombre admitted buying medicines without bills from Danish Khan of Delhi, paying online.
Khan, later detained, confessed that he sourced the fake Alburel from Rajkumar Mishra of Chandigarh, owner of Glasco Pharmaceutical and Unital Pharmaceutical. According to Khan, the deals were conducted through Delhi’s Bhagirath Palace market in cash, without bills.
Meanwhile, drug inspector Hemant Ade raided N.R.A.X. Pharma in Sion on September 14 and seized 17 bottles of Alburel worth ₹1.26 lakh.
Following these developments, FDA inspectors Jadhav, Nangre, and Vivek Khedkar lodged an FIR at Market Yard Police Station, Pune, against Shriram Nandkishor Chandak (owner, Shriram Healthcare), Rajesh Shantaram Jog & Shailam Gatla (partners, R.S.L. Pharma, Sadashiv Peth) , Ritesh Rohidas Thombre (owner, R.R.T. Pharma, Kamothe), Mohd. Danish Khan (Delhi resident).
The FIR was registered under IPC 2023 Sections 318(4), 336(3), 340(2), 278, 60, and 3(5), Crime No. 0182/2025 dated September 16, 2025. On the same day, police detained Thombre and Khan, who were later remanded to five days’ custody.
The multi-city operation was carried out by FDA inspectors Shrutika Jadhav, Vijay Nangre, Vivek Khedkar, Prakash Koli, Rahul Karande, and Hemant Ade, under the supervision of Girish Hukare (Joint Commissioner, Pune Division), V.T. Jadhav (Joint Commissioner, Konkan Division), Pongale and Thakre (Assistant Commissioners, Pune), and Gawali (Assistant Commissioner, Raigad).
Further investigation is underway to trace the wider network involved in the counterfeit medicine trade.
