The Mumbai police have arrested 10 people and filed seven First Information Reports (FIR) in connection with fake vaccination drives in Mumbai. The police have appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
Vishwas Nangre Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order), while addressing a press conference in Mumbai, said: “The SIT under DCP Vishal Thakur will probe how the accused procured vials, the people involved in this, the money flow, and the network. We can see a single channel operating in all these developments.” He said that Mumbai police have not come across any other racket organising fake vaccination camps.
Covishield given
Nangre Patil added that 390 members of the Hiranandani society were given the Covishield vaccine at a camp by charging them ₹1,260. However, certificates generated after vaccination mentioned different places, timing and dates, after which the society members approached the police.
The same gang organised vaccination camps in the city, including Thane, Borivali, Bhoiwada, Kandivali, Andheri, Khar and Samatanagar. The gang administered bogus vaccines to around 2,000 citizens.
“There are two main accused Mahendra Pratap Singh and Manish Tripathi. Both are part of the event management company. The vials were procured from Shivam Hospital and the owner of the hospital, Dr Shivraj Pataria, and his wife Dr Nita Pataria, have also been arrested.
“There is a gap in the number of vials procured from the hospital and the number of vials administered. The number of administered vials exceed the number of vials procured. We don’t have evidence to show that the administrated vials were adulterated,” said Nangre Patil.
He said that an employee of Kokilaben Hospital was part of the racket and the hospital has terminated him.
So far, the police have confiscated ₹12,40,000 and a Toyota car from the accused. The bank accounts of Mahendra Pratap Singh and Manish Tripathi have been seized.
Charges registered
Various charges have been registered against the accused, including an attempt to culpable homicide, administrating adulterated drugs, cheating and forgery, and violation of Covid-19 lockdown rules, along with cases under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act.