Jaipur: FIR Lodged Against Baba Ramdev, Patanjali MD Over COVID-19 Medicine Claim

An FIR has been registered in Jaipur against yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd managing director Acharya Balkrishna and three others, accusing them of conspiring to sell fake medicines under the claim that it can cure coronavirus.

The FIR was registered at Jyoti Nagar police station in Jaipur following complaints by individuals including an advocate. The lawyer has questioned the efficacy of the clinical trials which reportedly took place on COVID-19 patients at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMS).

"The main accusation is cheating people under the garb of selling medicines of COVID-19. I will also approach the court, demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter. It is our demand that action is taken against the accused," advocate Balram Jakhar, one of the complainants in the case, told The Indian Express.

The others named in the FIR included Anurag Varshney, an employee of Patanjali, Balvir Singh Tomar, and Anurag Singh Tomar, chairman, and director, at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMS) in Jaipur.

Patanjali Ayurved Limited's medicine, 'Coronil', that the company claims to cure COVID-19 has been making headlines since it was launched on June 23. Baba Ramdev had stated that 'Coronil tablet', 'Swasari Vati', and 'Anu Taila' had shown "100 per cent favourable results" during clinical trials on COVID-19 patients.

Soon after the launch, the ayurvedic company was asked by the Ayush Ministry to stop all promotions of its claimed COVID cure and to furnish details pertaining to the name and composition of the medicines. The Rajasthan government had said that it had no knowledge about the clinical trials conducted at NIMS and that no permission was sought for any such trial.

The Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jaipur, has served a notice to NIMS over the issue, and state Health Minister Raghu Sharma has said that action will be taken if any attempt is made to sell the purported drug as a potential medicine for COVID-19 patients in Rajasthan.

Jakhar, who identified himself as an independent advocate subscribing to the "ideology of the Congress party", cited previous cases registered against Balvir Tomar to demand a detailed investigation into the matter.

Stating that FIRs had earlier been registered against Tomar in different matters, and he was also in judicial custody, Jakhar said, "It should be investigated how Tomar, who runs a hospital not related to Ayurved, launched this alleged COVID-19 medicine with Ramdev. We demand a detailed investigation into the roles of every accused in the case."

Anurag Singh Tomar had earlier also been arrested on charges of outraging the modesty of a woman, according to an FIR filed by a former student of NIMS University.

According to The Indian Express report, Jyoti Nagar SHO Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay said the FIR has invoked IPC Section 420 (cheating) and Sections 4 and 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The SHO further confirmed that the investigation into the matter is underway and no arrests have been done so far.