A Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Karnataka arrested Balasubramanian, a key accused in the fake medicines racket, from Chennai on 30 September, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to seven. The arrest follows the earlier detention of alleged kingpin Prashanth Ranjan and represents a significant widening of the probe into a counterfeit drug network that reportedly supplied compromised medicines to over 90 hospitals and clinics across India.

Who Is Balasubramanian and What Was His Role

Balasubramanian, identified as a Chennai-based pharma partner, was a co-partner of Prashanth Ranjan in DM Pharma, a pharmaceutical company at the centre of the investigation. According to police, he allegedly played a critical role in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit medicines. He was produced before a court following his arrest and subsequently remanded to SIT custody for seven days for further interrogation.

The arrest was made on the basis of leads obtained during the questioning of Prashanth Ranjan, who reportedly provided investigators with additional details about the network and the roles played by other individuals in the alleged racket.

How the Kingpin Was Caught

The SIT had earlier arrested alleged prime accused Prashanth Ranjan Babu at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on a Monday, after he returned to India from Azerbaijan. According to police, Prashanth had allegedly fled to Azerbaijan following the exposure of the fake medicine network and was traced there by the investigating team. He returned to India under pressure from the SIT and was taken into custody upon arrival at the airport.

Scale of the Fake Drug Scam

The racket, centred around Bengaluru, involved the seizure of counterfeit, expired, and relabelled life-saving, ICU, and cancer drugs valued at over ₹5 crore. Investigators found that the illicit network had supplied compromised drugs to more than 90 hospitals and clinics. The initial arrests included Veeresh Kumar Jain of Krupa Healthcare in Bengaluru, whose pharmacy was found to be a node in the distribution chain.

SIT raids subsequently expanded across multiple states, including Karnataka, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) has cancelled 16 drug licences and suspended eight others belonging to retailers, wholesalers, and distributors linked to the scam. Notably, among the suspended licences was the Pfizer C&F (Carrying and Forwarding) Depot.

Government Response and Public Advisory

Karnataka Health Minister U.T. Khader stated that the Pfizer depot failed to cooperate with investigators or provide the reference standards required to lab-test the chemical components of seized fake medications. The Health Department is actively working to trace patients who may have received counterfeit cancer or critical care drugs, in order to evaluate their health status.

Authorities have strongly urged the public to check medicine labels carefully for suspicious packaging and to report any non-scanning QR codes directly to Drug Enforcement authorities. The SIT continues to interrogate the arrested accused to map the full extent of the network, including the locations where manufacturing and distribution activities were carried out and how long the racket had been operating.