Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday rejected the bail pleas of Vibhor Rana and Vishal Singh, accused in the codeine cough syrup case. Following the verdict, the two will have to surrender. A single bench of Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar passed the order. Additional advocate general (AAG) Anoop Trivedi had opposed the bail applications, arguing that there was ample evidence against the two accused. It was argued that the duo illegally stored and transported Phensedyl cough syrup and other drugs to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Bangladesh. Trivedi added that on Feb 12, 2024, govt formed a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA). It was reported that on April 8, 2024, the STF received information that a truck loaded with cough syrup was being transported from Transport Nagar to Cooch Behar, West Bengal. The STF team intercepted the truck on Sultanpur Road and seized 52 cartons of cough syrup. On questioning the truck driver, Dharmendra Kumar, the STF learned that Vibhor Rana and Vishal Singh were involved in the entire case. Following this, the STF arrested Vibhor Rana and his associates from Saharanpur on Nov 11, 2025.
