Lucknow, April 7 The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a member of an interstate gang involved in the 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 the Rahimabad police station area in Lucknow, was arrested on Monday evening from the Karimabad underpass in the 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 that illegally supplied oxytocin in Lucknow and nearby districts. He told police that another gang member, Irfan, a resident of Balaganj's Cattle Colony area, would 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 the 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 the Kunda police station in Pratapgarh district.
The accused, identified as Harishchandra, a resident of Dhanepur in the Gonda district, and his associate Sohanlal, were arrested near the 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 that 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.