BHUBANESWAR: The
state police headquarters has directed SPs to ensure foolproof security for the
vaccines during their transportation to the districts.
“We have asked deputy commissioners of police (Bhubaneswar and Cuttack) and the SPs to coordinate with the district administrations and chief district medical officers for compliance with security-related matters during transport and storage of vaccines,” additional director general of police (law and order) Yashwant Jethwa told TOI.
The
Covishield vaccine consignment, which arrived here on Tuesday afternoon, were taken to the
state vaccine store under tight police cover. A police van escorted the three vehicles that carried the vaccine from the airport to the vaccine store in front of Ram Mandir on Janpath.
“We have posted armed security guards at the state vaccine store. There will be round-the-clock vigil,” DCP (Bhubaneswar) Umashankar Dash said.
Sources said SPs of Maoist-affected districts have been asked to undertake special security measures when transporting the vaccines to the storage and vaccination centres. If required, police patrol vans will accompany the transporting vehicles from the state storage point in Bhubaneswar to other places.
The police headquarters has also alerted SPs to prevent the sale of fake Covid-19 vaccines. Police had arrested a man, Prahallad Bishi, from
Bargarh district in September last year for allegedly manufacturing and attempting to sell fake
Covid vaccine vials in the market.
Meanwhile, the SPs have been advised to keep a vigil on the cyber space and prevent fraudsters from duping people on the pretext of giving them Covid vaccines. The police too have started an awareness drive and urged people to stay away from cyber crooks.
“Beware of a new cybercrime. Fraudsters are calling and asking for Covid-19 vaccine registration. They ask for Aadhaar, email IDs and OTPs. Subsequently to authenticate the Aadhaar, they ask for OTP. Once the OTP is shared with them, money will be siphoned from Aadhaar linked bank accounts,” tweeted the office of Cuttack DCP.