Spurious drug trade: UP to reward whistle blowers

In a bid to check the sale of spurious drugs,UP has introduced a “whistle blower policy”,whereby those who inform the police about such rackets would be rewarded up to Rs 25 lakh. The scheme aims at promoting public participation in exposing spurious drug manufacturers and rewarding people for providing leads to check the manufacture and trade of such drugs,an official release said.

“The informer would get either 20 per cent price of the total spurious drugs confiscated or Rs 25 lakh,which ever is less,” it said,adding that government employees,including those working in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department,can also avail of the benefit of this scheme and earn a maximum Rs 30 lakh as prize money. The government has also made the laws stringent by awarding jail-term from 10 years to life imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10 lakh to those involved in manufacture of spurious drugs.