Delhi: Man ‘dupes’ family over black fungus meds, arrested

A 28-year-old man was arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly cheating the family of a patient suffering from mucormycosis by promising to deliver an anti-fungal drug required for treatment.

Police said this is one of the first arrests in cyber fraud related to black fungus medicines in the capital.

The accused, Prasant Kumar Sharma, allegedly took Rs 3,000 by promising to deliver amphotericin B to the victim but never provided them with the medicine.

A man named Vinit Jain approached police in Shahdara, complaining that the accused cheated him of Rs 3,000. Jain was looking for amphotericin B for his brother-in-law admitted at Sri Ganga Ram Hospital.

On Friday, doctors prescribed the patient vials of amphotericin B but the family couldn’t find the drug at pharmacies or hospitals.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said, “The family started looking online for a vendor and found Sharma’s number on a WhatsApp group on Saturday. They contacted him, and he told them he will deliver the vials at their home and sought Rs 3,000 as advance. After the complainant made the online payment, the accused stopped taking his calls.”

A case was registered under sections of cheating after police got the phone number and transaction details from Vinit.

Police on Sunday traced Sharma’s location and arrested him from his home in Ghaziabad. Sharma told police he worked as a driver before the lockdown but lost his job during the pandemic.

He then allegedly started cheating people on social media. “We found that he has cheated multiple people during the lockdown. He had recently posted his phone number on Facebook for plasma donation. He might also be cheating families of Covid patients and those in need of plasma,” said the police.