District Administration Office (DAO), Kathmandu, on Friday raided warehouses of Lomus Pharmaceuticals and Deurali- Janta Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd (DJPL), sealing their distribution units and arresting senior officials, on charge of selling medicines at prices higher than the government-set Maximum Retail Prices (MRP).

A team from the DAO and Metropolitan Police Range, Teku, arrested Lomas’ directors Prawal Jung Pandey and Prajwol Jung Pandey from their office based in Gairidhara, Kathmandu, according to Senior Superintendent of Police  (SSP) Bikram Thapa. Former president of Federation of Nepalese Cha-mbers of Commerce and Industry Pradeep Jung Pandey owns Lomus.

The police also arrested Deurali-Janta’s General Manager Nil Raj Acharya and Manger Nigam Adhikari from its distribution unit in Hattisar, Kathmandu.

Newly-elected president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) Hari Bhakta Sharma owns Deurali Janta.

“We will file a case against them on charge of black-marketeering and fraudulence,” said SSP Thapa.

The Cabinet on July 6, 2015, had fixed MRPs of 96 medicines and had asked drug makers and retailers to implement the rates by January 31, 2015.

Regulators—Department of Supply Management and Protection of Consumers Interest and Department of Drug Administration (DDA)—however expressed ignorance about the raid.

Bal Krishna Khakurel, chief drugs administrator at DDA, said it had issued a circular to pharmaceutical companies to implement the government-set prices. “The drug manufacturers had been reluctant to abide by the directive, stating the government should not intervene in a competitive market,” he said.

The companies had even filed a writ in the Supreme Court against the government’s move. “Hearing on the case is scheduled for March 14,” said Khakurel.

Meanwhile, FNCCI and CNI, in a joint statement on Friday, condemned the raid, stating instead of creating a conducive environment for smooth operation of industries  hit hard by the blockade, the government was harassing them.

“The private sector is saddened, worried and frustrated with the government’s serial raids on the issue of price,” the two private sector bodies said, asking the government what message it wanted to convey by taking action against the two industries without giving any opportunity for clarification and labelling them as black-marketeers.  

Demanding immediate release of the arrested, the private sector bodies have also warned of strong protest against the government action.