Bihar's drugs traders hope posters of Tej Pratap Yadav might be a miracle cure against raids

A crackdown on chemists in Patna has inspired many of them to put up posters of Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav, son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in the hope that they will be exempt from the raids, reports the Hindustan Times.

However, their hopes faded when the raids continued on the instructions of Tej Pratap. Some 72 raids on chemists were conducted in December and nine in January to catch traders dealing in spurious, banned and exorbitantly-priced drugs, as well as 'miracle cures' with no basis in medicine, and drugs past their sell-by dates.

"Around 38 substandard drugs, including commonly used Cetirizine and Al Medazol, have been detected," said an official of the raids. "Even ledgers are not properly maintained. When the administration tightened the noose, they have come up with fake bills from Delhi, Varanasi, Agra and even Dalsinghsarai in Samastipur district. All cases are being examined and stern action will follow."