THANE: Nearly 140 pharmaceutical shops in Thane , Raigad and Ratnagiri districts have been slapped with a show cause notice by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the sale of pregnancy terminating medicines without prescription from doctors .
The FDA is conducting surprise checks on pharmaceutical shops, to verify stocks and account books that are maintained by distributors to assess sale of abortion drugs . The drive comes in the wake of female foeticide cases being unearthed in Beed and other areas of the state .
State authorities too have stepped up vigil on radiologists and abortion clinics . Recently , the FDA's region-wise raids led to the arrest of two fake doctors who were running clinics in Bhiwandi .The FDA team has scrutinized sale records of 288 pharmaceutical shops in the recent past and found that 140 could not account for the sale of abortion medicines ,it is learnt .
The FDA inspection has also revealed that quite a few medical stores were involved in selling huge quantities of cough syrups, Corex or Rexcough , without prescriptions . FDA officials said licences of 29 shops have been suspended pending inquiry .
