Nagpur: City police on Saturday arrested three more persons, including a scribe identified as Vikas Dhokne Patil alias Vivek, for alleged backmarketing of Remdesivir injection which is in short-supply in the market.
Patil was trapped at Martin Nagar with two vials of the anti-viral drug by special squad of zonal DCP Neelotpal following an information shared by city police chief Amitesh Kumar. It’s learnt, Patil offered the two vials for Rs46,000 to the cops posing as customers.
Cash of Rs13,000 and Patil’s car too were seized. Police said Patil has admitted to selling another four Remdesivir vials in the past.
Following the interrogation of Patil, two more persons, identified as Aman Shinde, a pharmacist from Sitabuldi, and another ward boy of a Dhantoli-based hospital, Ishwar Mondal alias Bittu, were arrested.
Police recovered another couple of injections from Mondal. Police said Bittu would steal Remdesivir from his hospital before handing them over to Shinde from whom Patil collected it on many occasions. “We have come across facts that would lead to more actions,” said Neelotpal whose team comprised senior inspector Nitin Phatangare, asst PI Devkate of Jaripatka police station and their counterparts from Koradi police station and special squad.
CP Kumar said the hospitals must be alert regarding the pilferage and constantly keep a check on their Remdesivir stock.
Police said the three arrested persons were produced before the magistrate who remanded them to custody for two days.
In another action, connected to the earlier raid in which Dr Lokesh Sahu was arrested, ward boy of a hospital in Wardha, Umesh Satpute, was nabbed from whom nine vials of Remdesivir were recovered. Satpute used to supply Remdesivir to his counterparts in the city who supplied it to Kunal Kohde and others.
In the meanwhile, police have handed over the seized Remdesivir to sub-divisional magistrate at collector’s office.