Family cheated of Rs 42K with tocilizumab promise

Surat: A resident of Valsad district was arrested for allegedly cheating a relative of a Covid-19 patient by taking Rs 42,500 for tocilizumab injection but not delivering it.
Police arrested Hemant Savariya, a resident of Pardi Sandh village on Sunday evening for cheating Hemant Patel from Dungri Gam.
Patel had contacted Savariya on April 26 to arrange for tocilizumab injections for the treatment of his family member Mrugesh Patel, a resident of Daman who was under treatment at a Covid-19 hospital in Vapi town.
“Doctors asked us to arrange for tocilizumab as the hospital did not have it. So, we contacted Patel who promised to arrange. We transferred Rs 42,500 through net banking into his account. But when we kept calling him to inquire about the status, he started making excuses and did not deliver the injections. He then switched off his mobile phones too,” Patel told police.
Meanwhile, on April 30, Mrugesh succumbed to Covid-19.
“We are trying to find out how many people Patel has cheated so far,” said a police official.