Lucknow, Apr 7 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a member of an interstate gang involved in illegal smuggling of oxytocin injections in Lucknow and seized a large quantity of the drug, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an STF statement, the accused, identified as Rehan, a resident of Tirwa under Rahimabad police station area in Lucknow, was arrested on Monday evening from Karimabad underpass in Kakori area.
The STF said 502 vials (180 ml each) of oxytocin injections, two mobile phones and a motorcycle were recovered from his possession.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to being part of a gang supplying oxytocin illegally in Lucknow and nearby districts. He told police that another gang member, Irfan, a resident of Balaganj’s Cattle Colony area, used to provide him with the injections, which were then distributed across various locations in the city.
The STF said samples of the seized injections have been sent for laboratory testing. It noted that the Union Health Ministry had, through a notification in 2001, restricted the sale of oxytocin injections to single-unit blister packs. A case has been registered at Kakori police station and further legal action is being taken by the local police.
In a separate operation, the STF arrested two alleged members of the Barwar gang, who were wanted in a case registered at Kunda police station in Pratapgarh district.
The accused, identified as Harishchandra, a resident of Dhanepur in Gonda district, and his associate Sohanlal, were arrested near Badshah Nagar railway station in Lucknow on Tuesday morning, the STF said.
During questioning, the duo admitted to being active members of the Barwar gang and involved in crimes such as robbery, theft and snatching for the past 15 years, it said.
The STF said both accused are wanted under the Gangsters Act and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Pratapgarh.
Harishchandra has 17 criminal cases registered against him across multiple districts including Raebareli, Bahraich, Ayodhya, Kushinagar, Gonda, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Basti and Sultanpur, while Sohanlal faces 10 cases in districts such as Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Balrampur, Raebareli, Gonda and Bahraich, it added. PTI KIS NB NB
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