Police bust illegal sale of fake oxytocin injections

Hyderabad: The sleuths of Task Force, the South-West Zone team, along with Mangalhat police, conducted a raid on Banwarilal Suresh Kumar Bansal near Jet Cafe in Old Mallepally. They were illegally selling fake oxytocin injections at exorbitant prices to needy customers. The police apprehended three individuals and seized large quantities of phenol I.P. injections from their possession.

The arrested persons were Suresh Kumar Gupta (70), Lala Babu Yadav, alias Bunty (35), and Abdul Haji (28). The police seized 100 injection bottles of 200 ml each, two liters of acetic acid, 12 phenol I.P (carbolic acid crystal I.P.) (poison), and other items.

According to the police, oxytocin is primarily used to stimulate milk letdown in cows and buffaloes by inducing intra-mammary pressure. However, due to its potential misuse by farmers and dairy owners in the veterinary field to extract milk from cattle, oxytocin injections have been banned by the government.

The police stated that the prime accused, Lala Babu Yadav, devised a plan to prepare fake oxytocin injections by diluting Phenol I.P., which is a poison, with acetic acid and water.

Typically, phenol is not available for domestic use due to its poisonous nature.

After preparing the fake oxytocin injection bottles, Lala Babu used to supply them to Suresh Kumar Gupta, who runs a cattle feed shop in Mangalhat and other dairies in and around Hyderabad. Suresh then sold these bottles to unsuspecting farmers and dairy owners who, in their efforts to enhance milk production, administered the fake oxytocin injections to their cattle. This practice poses serious dangers to both the animals and the consumers who consume the milk. The actions of the perpetrators endangered human life.

A case has been registered against the accused persons U/s 420,336,273 IPC, r/w 34 IPC, and Sec 18 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Suresh Kumar Gupta was previously involvement in a similar case reported at the Habeeb Nagar police station.