A medical investigation spanning the states of Panjab and West Bengal uncovered the source of a toxic ‘fortified’ oil that has left several residents of Panjab in critical condition. Months after several patients with severe Vitamin D toxicity were admitted in Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, health officials in Rajpura and Patiala traced the fraudulent supply chain back to Kolkata in West Bengal. In a ‘mixing’ operation concentrated in Fatehgarh Sahib and Rajpura, distributors opened original packages and infused the oil with excessive, toxic concentrations of Vitamin D. Patiala district health officer Dr. Gurpreet Kaur said, ‘This adulterated mixture was then refilled in loose bottles and sold under a local brand name. To gain public trust, the bottles falsely bore the FSSAI (Indian regulatory body) approval mark.’ The crackdown followed results from the state food lab in Kharar, which officially declared the seized samples as substandard and hazardous. In earlier raids, officials had already confiscated over 350 boxes and hundreds of bottles of the suspect oil. Meanwhile, a report by Reserve Bank of India states that women in Panjab and Haryana outlive men by 6.3 years with average life expectancy of women in the state at 73.1 while men are 68.8 years. However, life expectancy for both is better than the national average at 72.5 and 68.5, respectively. Meanwhile, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann ordered the immediate release of USD 7.66M to upgrade facilities at four premier medical colleges in the state. As per the allocation, USD 2.96M has been sanctioned for Government Medical College, Amritsar; USD 3.18M for Government Medical College, Patiala; USD 1.05M for Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute of Medical Sciences, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (SAS Nagar); and half a million USD for the PGIMER Satellite Center, Ferozepur. Additionally, insurance cover under the Panjab government's Universal Health Scheme, is set to be enhanced from USD 5,572 to USD 11,143 per family per year from January 2026, said Health Minister Balbir Singh. Furthermore, medical and medical post graduate seats have been increased across government medical colleges in Amritsar, Patiala, SAS Nagar, Faridkot, and Chandigarh.
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