The Versova police on Wednesday arrested a ‘quack’ claiming to have medicines with properties for the regeneration of cells. It was being sold to patients at an exorbitant rate of over Rs6,000 per bottle.
The accused has been identified as Nisar Panjwani, 60, a resident of Versova. The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint by the Food and Drug Administration, which raided his residence last week. “Panjwani used to sell the tonic, claiming that it has cell regeneration properties,” said DCP KMM Prasanna.
According to senior police inspector Sharad Borse of the Versova police station, Panjwani operated from his home in Versova. “The investigation is on in the case, and we are trying to find out where Panjwani sourced this medicine from.” Panjwani, in his statement to the police, has claimed that he is merely a distributor and would get the medicines from Fazal pharmaceutical company in Bhiwandi.
“What has baffled us is that Panjwani claims he started prescribing the medicine after he used the Right to Information to get a clearance for his formula and other legalities,” said Borse.
The initial investigation has revealed that there no manufacturing date was mentioned on the tonic package, despite the fact that the expiry date is said to be three years from the manufacturing date.
Though sources in the police claimed that Panjwani was earlier booked on similar charges by the Versova police station, it could not be confirmed.
