'Vishnu Aggarwal Not Questioned As An Accused': Advocate On Cough Syrup Trafficking Case

Varanasi: Vivek Shankar Tiwari, advocate for CA Vishnu Kumar Aggarwal, aide of Shubham Jaiswal, clarified that his client has not been questioned by the police as an accused in the ongoing codeine-based cough syrup trafficking case.

Tiwari told ANI on Saturday that Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have been questioning Aggarwal and that he was in good condition when they met him. The advocate emphasised that Aggarwal has not faced any ill treatment during questioning.

"... The police have not questioned Vishnu Aggarwal as an accused. Enforcement Directorate officials have been questioning him since yesterday... We haven't been able to contact him yet either... He was in good condition when I met him yesterday. He has not been subjected to any ill-treatment..." Tiwari said.

Meanwhile, the ED on Thursday carried out extensive searches at 25 locations linked to the alleged illegal cough-syrup trading network, targeting the premises of key accused Shubham Jaiswal and his associates. The coordinated raids, which began at 7:30 am, spanned multiple cities across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.

Officials said the searches focused on properties connected to Jaiswal, his associates Alok Singh and Amit Singh, and several pharmaceutical manufacturers accused of diverting cough syrup supplies for unlawful distribution. The premises connected to chartered accountant Vishnu Aggarwal are also being searched as part of the probe, according to the official.

On December 10, Varanasi Police had conducted a major crackdown on the illegal trade of banned codeine-based cough syrup, seizing around 30,000 bottles from a godown in the city, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 60 lakh.

Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Saravanan Thangamani, DCP Crime, Varanasi, said, “The Varanasi Commissioner is continuously taking action against codeine-containing cough syrup. There is a godown here where this cough syrup is kept in huge quantities. Around 30,000 bottles of codeine-containing cough syrup have been seized, whose estimated value is around Rs 60,00,000. The land of this illegal godown is in the name of Manoj Kumar Yadav, a close associate of Shubham Jaiswal. 2 suspects have been arrested at the spot.”

The accused in the recent alleged cough syrup smuggling case in Varanasi, Shubham Jaiswal, who faces cases in Varanasi and Ghaziabad, has sought quashing of the FIR and a stay on his arrest.

An FIR under the NDPS Act was registered on November 15 at Varanasi's Kotwali police station, naming Shubham, his father Bhola Prasad Jaiswal and 28 others in connection with the trafficking of banned codeine-laced cough syrup.

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