S Gopal Puri

Dharamshala/Shimla: In a startling development that has caused significant embarrassment for Himachal Pradesh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) executed multiple raids on June 22 targeting key officials associated with the state's drug control system. A focal point of these operations was Assistant Drug Controller Nishant Sareen, whose return to a public-facing role in Dharamshala, despite serious past allegations, has ignited widespread public outrage.

The ED's actions reportedly took place simultaneously at five different locations, including Dharamshala, Panchkula, Zirakpur, and Baddi. The raids specifically targeted Sareen, his father-in-law Ramesh Kumar Gupta, and Dr. Komal Khanna. Authorities confiscated various items such as documents, laptops, mobile phones, luxury goods, and property papers, all believed to be connected to a broader scheme of financial misconduct and illicit payments from pharmaceutical firms operating in the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area.

Public frustration has intensified due to the apparent political protection that allowed Sareen to maintain a sensitive position directly involved with pharmaceutical approvals and public interactions. Despite being implicated in a bribery case back in 2019, Sareen was reinstated and assigned to Dharamshala, a politically significant area, allegedly due to the influence of powerful individuals.

The opposition party, BJP, has vehemently criticized the Congress-led state government, accusing it of shielding corrupt officials for personal gain. Senior BJP figure and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Satpal Satti, along with former minister and current MLA Bikram Thakur, raised concerns in the Assembly about the department's declining integrity and its alleged connections with influential pharmaceutical interests. However, the government has remained unresponsive, ignoring multiple warnings.

“The issue is straightforward: why was an official with a questionable history, previously dismissed due to corruption, reinstated in a position of public trust?” questioned Satpal Satti. “This is a clear case of political favoritism,” added Bikram Thakur. “When I voiced concerns during the Pekhuvela project and later regarding the tragic death of Chief Engineer Vimal Negi, my warnings were disregarded. Now, this negligence has culminated in yet another scandal.”

This controversy coincides with alarming reports of substandard drug production from facilities in Baddi and Nalagarh, with numerous samples failing quality assessments. The compromised operations of the drug control department have raised serious alarms regarding public health, regulatory failures, and financial misconduct in a sector that is supposed to protect lives.

As the ED intensifies its investigation into the accused, expectations are rising for additional names to emerge in the following days, leading to increasing calls for a broader inquiry and potential CBI involvement.