A third medical store in Moga has been sealed by Punjab’s health department for alleged violations of prescribed rules, intensifying inspections across the state after the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa on October 13, according to the Times of India.
The store in Moga had reportedly remained closed since Jhota’s killing. Officials from the department’s drug control wing said they suspected that the owner kept the outlet shut because inspections could expose the alleged illegal sale of medicines. Repeated phone calls to the owner went unanswered, the officials said.
The authorities sealed the premises after finding violations during an inspection. However, the health department has not disclosed the exact nature of the violations. It has also not clarified whether a case has been registered against the owner of the store.
The action is the third sealing of a medical store in Moga since the incident in Mansa. The enforcement drive has focused on alleged violations involving medicines and capsules that officials say were being sold or stocked in breach of prescribed requirements.
Earlier, two medical stores in the district were sealed for allegedly selling prohibited capsules. During inspections, officials recovered 150 tablets of Pregabalin 150 mg, identified as Pegcob 150 SR, from one of the stores. The stock was allegedly kept in violation of orders issued by the district magistrate.
Pregabalin is a prescription medicine, and the recovery has become part of the health department’s action against suspected irregularities in the storage or sale of medicines in Moga. The report does not specify the district magistrate’s order number, the precise restrictions applicable to the recovered stock, or the subsequent legal action in that case.
The latest sealing shows the administrative response moving beyond individual complaints towards inspections of retail medicine outlets. Such action places the drug control wing at the centre of enforcement, while store owners remain responsible for complying with rules governing the stocking and sale of medicines.
The wider crackdown follows the killing of Jhota, described in the report as an anti-drug activist. The report does not provide details of the investigation into his killing or establish a direct connection between the sealed Moga store and that incident. Officials have so far disclosed the inspections, the alleged violations and the recovery from one earlier outlet, but not the complete enforcement record for the district.
The health department’s next steps will determine whether the sealed store faces further proceedings. Details awaited include the specific violations recorded during the inspection, whether any criminal or regulatory case has been filed, and whether additional medical stores will be inspected in Moga.
