Illegal sale of Remdesivir: Doctor, pharmacist held in Chennai

CHENNAI/MADURAI: The Chennai police have come down hard on the illegal sale of Remdesivir as two more, including a doctor at the King Institute, Guindy, have been arrested and 24 vials seized. According to the police, among the accused, P Ramasundram was a doctor with King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research in Guindy, where Covid patients are being treated and a lab runs test results for Covid. The other accused, N Karthik (27) of Alandur, was an assistant pharmacist at the institute and was part of the team that handled Remdesivir provided by the government.

“The duo had siphoned the vials as they arrived at the Institute to treat patients. Karthik, who is in-charge of the pharmacy, kept a batch of vials separately when the stock arrived and made false record. For some vials, Karthik recorded as ‘damaged’ and took the original ones,” said a senior police officer, adding that for every vial sold, Karthik received Rs 5,000 and Ramasundram sold the same for about Rs 20,000.

A Civil Supplies CID team, led by Superintendent S Santhi, posed as customers and nabbed the accused. The team secured the duo based on a tip-off on Tuesday and handed them over to Guindy police. Ramasundram’s car and Karthik’s two-wheeler were also seized. Further investigation is on. As many as seven incidents of arrests for illegal Remdesivir sale have been reported across the city in the last one week and most of the accused were doctors and hospital staff. Totally, over 50 vials were seized during the arrests.

Meanwhile, the Mathichiyam police have launched an inquiry after 8 bottles (100 mg) of Remdesivir vials went missing from the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai. According to the police, Assistant Resident Medical Officer (ARMO) of GRH, M Syed Abdul Kather (52), made a complaint that a contract worker, who works in the Covid ward took nine vials (100 gm) of Remdesivir to the ICU on Sunday, on request of hospital staff to administer it to patients.

Further, the worker kept the nine vials in the ICU ward and returned back. Later, when officials opened the boxes, they found eight out of the nine vials missing. The remaining vial was found broken inside the pack. The information was passed to higher officials and a departmental enquiry was initiated. A complaint was also launched with the police.

According to police, the vials were worth an estimated Rs 38,400, but it could cost over Rs 3 lakh in black market. CCTV footage was accessed by the police to identify culprits. According to a senior hospital official, an unnamed contract employee was suspended and a memo was issued to the staff on duty during the incident. The contract worker has been taken for investigation and an inquiry is on. Meanwhile, Dean of the GRH, Dr J Sangumani, inspected Remdesivir stocks at the hospital.