Psychiatrists to go on strike; Police suspect big drug racket and massive illegal operations

Fron the Times of India

After procuring huge amounts of psychotropic pills from Dr Sudha Vasudev's private clinic at Mullanpur Dhaka and her residence at Rishi Nagar in Ludhiana on Saturday, the Jagraon police have said there is a big racket, and there could be other arrests soon.

Meanwhile, functioning of psychiatry OPDs in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in Punjab and Chandigarh would be hit on Monday as psychiatrists under Indian Psychiatry Society and Indian Association of Private Psychiatry, Punjab and Chandigarh, have come out in the support of two doctors, arrested by Jagraon police for the illegal sale of psychotropic drugs at their private clinics in Mullanpur Dhaka and Khanna, and have decided to go on a strike on Monday.

"There are not just two doctors. We are getting many other links and it is too complicated. For the time being, we can say that there is a big racket involved, and we are trying to unearth some other important facts. We will disclose it at the right time," said SSP Jagraon, Ravcharan Singh Brar, who raided and arrested Dr Sudha Vasudev, in-charge of a drug de-addiction centre at Mullanpur Dhaka, from a hospital that did not have a licence to run the psychiatry clinic.

It is to be noted that on Saturday, police investigated the residence of Dr Sudha, from where they procured 18,000 more pills and another cache schedule H drugs. "The huge amount of psychotropic drugs and bills show that the company and the doctor had pacts and were doing it for a long time," he added.

According to rules, such drugs are not allowed at the residence of doctors and in private clinics. This is completely illegal, and the search is still on. According to sources, the medicine was Beuprinorphine, which has strong elements to wean addicts from drugs like heroin and smack, but at the same time, it also creates an alternate addiction. Some psychiatrists are still using it. Police said they have also recovered the receipt of Rs70,000 for buying the same drugs from a pharma company in bulk. Previously, on Friday, 3,600 pills were collected from her private clinic.

Presently, Dr Sudha is on two days remand by the orders of the local court, and this may increase as the investigation continues, and layers keep unfolding. She had be charged under three acts - Drugs and Cosmetics Act, NDPS Act for selling illegal psychotropic drugs at a private clinic, and Prevention of Corruption Act for trying to bribe the police to hush up the matter on the spot.