Man held for selling ‘fake’ Remdesivir vials to Covid patient’s kin in Surat

The Surat Police on Thursday claimed to have detained a man who had allegedly sold six “fake” Remdesivir vials to a person whose relative was admitted in a hospital at Yogi Chowk. Police identified the accused as Divyesh Patel, a resident of Adajan area in Surat.

Police said that on Tuesday, Jigneshbhai Malani, a resident of Yogi Chowk, was standing in queue at New Civil Hospital to get Remdesivir injection for his cousin brother Ashok Malani, who is under treatment in Mantra Hospital. Jignesh could not get the injection as stocks ran out before his turn came up, they said. Someone present at the hospital then gave him a phone number and urged to told him to contact the person to get Remdesivir injections, police said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Jignesh called the number and requested for six vials of Remdesivir. The person said each vial would cost him (Jignesh) Rs 7,000. Jignesh agreed and it was decided that the vials would be handed over on the main road near Vanita Vishram School ground at Athwa Gate, around 6:30 pm on Wednesday.

Jignesh reached the spot on time and again made a call on the number, after which a man came there and handed him 6 vials of injections and took Rs 42,000 from Jignesh.

Jignesh who runs a garment shop at Sarthana, reached the Mantra Hospital where doctors found that the box with the “injections”, in fact, contained water in packed bottles, police said.

Jignesh called the number again and told the person to come to Sarthana with “more such injections” on Thursday. At the spot, Jignesh along with some of his friends accosted the accused and took him to Sarthana police station, where a cheating complaint was then registered against Divyesh.

Sarthana police inspector G A Patel said, “The accused has undergone a Covid test and after the results are in, he (Divyesh) will be arrested. A probe is on.”