Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday launched a fierce attack on the Opposition over the alleged codeine cough syrup racket, warning that those found guilty would face such stringent action that they would be left with no room to escape the consequences of the law. Speaking in the Assembly, he said the state government would pursue the case relentlessly and ensure exemplary punishment for everyone involved.
Adityanath alleged that an organised network had misused manufacturing and distribution licences issued during the tenure of the Samajwadi Party government, leading to large-scale diversion of regulated codeine-based medicines. He claimed that key accused in the racket had political backing and asserted that several licences now under investigation were granted before 2017, when the Samajwadi Party was in power.
Holding up documents and photographs on the floor of the House, the Chief Minister said images showing accused Alok Sipahi with Akhilesh Yadav had gone viral, raising serious questions about alleged political patronage. “The truth is always bitter,” Adityanath said, accusing the Opposition of attempting to distract attention from the gravity of the investigation.
He informed legislators that cases had been registered under the NDPS Act for illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrup, unauthorised storage and failure to maintain proper records. These offences, he said, attract severe punishment ranging from 10 to 20 years of imprisonment, underscoring the seriousness of the crackdown.
Reiterating his government’s resolve, the Chief Minister said the action against the syndicate was ongoing and far from over. He stated that 77 accused had already been arrested, 79 cases registered and 225 individuals named so far. Raids had been carried out on 134 firms across the state, while an SIT headed by the Inspector General (Law and Order) had been constituted to oversee the probe. Police and the Special Task Force, he added, had collected more than a thousand samples as part of the investigation.
Adityanath also stressed that no deaths linked to codeine syrup consumption had been reported in Uttar Pradesh, accusing political rivals of deliberately conflating the state’s enforcement drive with incidents reported elsewhere. He said the Uttar Pradesh government had already prevailed in court on key aspects of the case, calling the action unprecedented in scale and intent.
Naming individuals allegedly connected to the racket, the Chief Minister said Shubham Jaiswal of Shaili Traders was a major stockist and claimed he was a business partner of Amit Yadav, the Samajwadi Party Yuvjan Sabha’s state secretary and a former candidate from Varanasi Cantt. He alleged that Vibhor Rana, identified by investigators as a central figure in the network, was issued a licence in 2016 during the previous government’s tenure.
The remarks came days after Akhilesh Yadav targeted the Chief Minister over the codeine case, alleging that such a large illegal operation could not have functioned without administrative failure. Samajwadi Party legislators also staged protests outside the Assembly in Lucknow, demanding action against all those involved.
Responding to the criticism, Adityanath maintained that his government was acting firmly against criminal networks irrespective of political affiliation. He insisted that the crackdown would continue until every link in the chain was exposed and brought to justice.
According to an SIT report submitted to the Chief Minister, the racket involved a deeply entrenched syndicate that exploited licensing loopholes, hawala financing and international smuggling routes. While codeine-based cough syrups are legal medicines, they are tightly regulated, and the illegality stemmed from large-scale diversion, stockpiling and sale without prescription for intoxicant use. The syrups seized were genuine products, not spurious formulations.
The SIT identified Vibhor Rana as the alleged kingpin and stated that licences for all suspect firms linked to the network were issued before 2017. Investigators described a layered supply chain, stretching from super-stockists to retailers, which enabled massive accumulation and diversion of bottles into the narcotics market. The report also distinguished the Uttar Pradesh case from deaths reported in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, attributing those incidents to spurious syrups manufactured elsewhere.
