50 vials of Covishield vaccine stolen from Hyderabad hospital

HYDERABAD: While lakhs of people are still eagerly waiting for their turn to get vaccinated, unknown persons stole 50 vials of Covishield vaccine from a hospital in Hyderabad’s upscale Kondapur area. Based on the complaint of hospital authorities, police registered a theft case and launched an investigation.
On Thursday, Ranga Reddy district hospital superintendent, Dr M Dasarath informed Gachibowli police, alleging that unknown persons have stolen 50 vials of Covishield vaccine from the hospital premises.
The vials of Covishield were stored in the Ice Lined Refrigerator (ILR) vaccine room at the hospital. On Saturday when the hospital staff, checked the freezer, the stock was intact but on Wednesday when Dr Mahesh, a pediatric counsellor, checked the stock while also checking Children’s vaccines, he realized 50 Covishield vials were missing.
“There were about 130 vials and 50 of them was gone. After an internal inquiry, a complaint was lodged with us on Thursday,” Gachibowli inspector G Suresh said.
The complainant alleged that after examining the CCTV footage, they observed that ward boy E Anjaiah was moving suspiciously around the ILR room on May 18. As the room’s lock was not broken, police suspect that someone who has the key has committed the offence.
“About 500 people could be vaccinated using the 50 vials of Covishield. We have registered a case under section 380 (theft in a building) of the IPC. CCTV footage at the hospital is being analyzed to identify the accused,” the inspector said.