Drug Control raids medicine shops on BC Road in Burdwan: Documents checked, warning of strict legal action
To prevent the illegal sale of narcotic drugs or sleeping pills without a prescription, the administration has taken a very strict stand. As part of this, the state Drug Control Department conducted a sudden special raid on multiple well-known medicine shops on BC Road, one of the busiest commercial areas in Burdwan city, the district headquarters of East Burdwan. Sociologists and the medical community consider this step to be highly significant and timely, given the recent dangerous increase in the tendency among a section of the youth to use certain sensitive drugs for intoxication. This operation was mainly conducted to raise awareness among medicine traders and to verify whether medicines are being sold properly in compliance with all license conditions and regulations.
During the raid, Drug Control Department Inspector Abdul Wadud told the media that selling drugs falling under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act without a valid and clear prescription from a doctor is completely illegal and a punishable offense. On this day, all stock registers, sales registers, and documents related to the sale of highly sensitive and regulated drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act—such as Nitrazepam, Tapentadol, and Codeine Phosphate—were thoroughly examined. The state and central governments have long issued strict guidelines to prevent the misuse of such drugs, which some dishonest traders are often accused of violating.
Although no specific medicines were seized, nor were any samples collected for laboratory testing from any particular shop during today's sudden raid, the investigating officers carefully scrutinized the purchase and sale bills of several specific sensitive drugs. Additionally, shop owners have been strictly instructed to submit copies of all these documents to the Drug Control Department promptly. The department's official stated in clear terms that if any trader fails to present valid bills or satisfactory answers within the specified timeframe, the strictest legal action will be taken against the concerned medicine shop under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which could lead to severe penalties such as cancellation of the license and imprisonment.
Later, the Drug Control Department also clarified that this was not a sudden raid conducted on the basis of any specific complaint; rather, this inspection was carried out as an awareness and preventive measure to protect the rising youth and curb increasing drug addiction in the state from this destructive vice. This campaign aims to send a message so that medicine traders conduct their business ethically in compliance with the law and maintain social responsibility. Following this strict warning from the administration, considerable tension and alertness have been observed in the medicine business community of Burdwan city. According to sources from the Drug Control Department, such surveillance and raids will continue even more rigorously in other areas of Burdwan city in the coming days.
