‘Grave allegations’: Gurgaon court denies bail to fake Mounjaro racket mastermind

4 min readGurgaonJun 27, 2026 03:11 PM IST

Additional Sessions Judge observed that the allegations against Avi Sharma are "quite grave" and "his act prima facie appears to be committing fraud with the general public at large and selling of spurious, adulterated and misbranded drugs".

A city court has recently dismissed the regular bail application of Avi Sharma, the alleged mastermind behind the fake weight-loss drug Mounjaro injection racket case.

Rejecting the bail plea, Additional Sessions Judge Yashwinder Paul Singh on June 20 observed that the allegations against Sharma are “quite grave” and “his act prima facie appears to be committing fraud with the general public at large and selling of spurious, adulterated and misbranded drugs”.

Sharma has been in judicial custody since April 19.

On April 18, a team comprising Gurgaon Drugs Control Officers Amandeep Chauhan and Mukesh Kumar, along with the local police, intercepted a car near Super Mart and recovered suspected spurious Mounjaro Kwikpen Injections of various strengths. The estimated cost of the seized products, based on the maximum retail price (MRP) on the labels, was Rs 56,15,847.

The passenger in the car, Mujammil Khan, who identified himself as a medical representative for Hemped Souls International LLP, disclosed to the investigators that the recovered products belonged to Avi Sharma.

Sharma was subsequently called to the spot, where he failed to produce any valid licence to stock, sell, exhibit, or distribute the drug, and admitted sole responsibility for his actions.

According to the prosecution, the labels on the recovered vials claimed they were manufactured by Eli Lilly Italia SpA, the Italian subsidiary of the US pharma major, and imported/marketed by Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt Ltd.

However, the labels mismatched with the original products, and verification with the actual manufacturing company confirmed that the drugs did not belong to them and were entirely spurious.

Spurious products manufactured from flat

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During the investigation, it was revealed that Sharma was allegedly manufacturing these spurious products himself from a residential flat at Pivotal Paradise at Sector-62, Gurgaon.

A subsequent search led to the recovery of the fabricated drug labels from his residential premises. Investigations also proved that Sharma was manufacturing another drug under the brand name ‘Tone UP’, falsely claiming on its label that it was manufactured in Japan, without holding any valid drug manufacturing licence.

Seeking regular bail, Sharma’s counsel argued that he had been in custody since April 19. The defence submitted that Sharma had previously been awarded the ‘Bhartiya Excellence Award for Ayurvedic Innovator of the year’ and contended that his project ‘Tone Up’ was strictly on an experimental level. They claimed the product was never sold in the market or any medical store, and argued that the prosecution’s story was flimsy as no private witnesses were joined during the recovery.

Opposing the bail application, Drugs Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan argued that the allegations against the accused are heinous and carry a punishment of up to life imprisonment. He noted that the accused was actively involved in manufacturing and selling spurious, adulterated, and misbranded life-saving drugs, and releasing him could adversely affect the ongoing investigation.

Illegal operations started in April

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Chauhan had earlier told The Indian Express that Sharma, who worked at his father’s firm until 2016, began the illegal operation in April in his Gurgaon flat, allegedly aiming to scale up earnings to Rs 2 crore a month. He allegedly manufactured counterfeit versions of Mounjaro, used to manage diabetes and weight loss. The drug, produced by American pharma giant Eli Lilly, was introduced in India last year.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.

Education

- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)

- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)

Professional Experience

Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.

Reporting Interests

His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.

Recent Coverage (2025)

- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).

- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).

- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).

- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.

- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).

- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).

Contact

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