The police has registered offences against four persons, a medical shop and a Delhi-based drug manufacturing unit for alleged sale and purchase of veterinary medicines for human use, an official said today.

Based on a complaint by officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Naupada police here yesterday registered offences against them under IPC sections pertaining to cheating and relevant provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Thane police's public relations officer Sukhada Narkar said. The FDA, during an inspection of the medical shop in Thane last month, found that it had in September sold to a person some medicines which were for the treatment of animals and not human beings, she said.

The FDA officials also seized a stock of such medicines, from which the stockist had removed the label containing the warning that it was not for use by humans, the official said. The persons against whom the offences have been registered include two owners of the medical shop, a pharmacist and a senior official of the drug manufacturing unit, police said. An investigation into the matter was underway, the police added.