Mumbai: 2,773 people got fake Covid-19 vaccines, BMC tells Bombay HC

MUMBAI: The state informed the Bombay High Court that police are likely to file chargesheet within two weeks in the first FIR in the fake Covid-19 vaccination scam that was unearthed recently at camps organised by housing societies and the court sought an investigation progress report update in a sealed cover after two weeks.
Senior counsel Anil Sakhare for the BMC informed the HC that 2,773 people received fake jabs and it has requested them to be deregistered after which the civic body will vaccinate them at the earliest. He also said that the police probe revealed that most of the unsuspecting recipients of the fake vaccines had received “saline water’’.
The HC bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni while hearing a PIL filed by advocate Siddharth Chandrashekhar on streamlining vaccinations in the city, asked the Centre to ensure such de-registration on the Cowin app is done soon for victims of the jab scam.
Anita Castellino, counsel for Chandrashekhar, sought to point out that many others may have been similarly duped. The HC said the police was doing its probe and it is allowed to continue its investigation which will unearth more details.
The court observed that there appear to be three-four accused common to the several cases registered by Mumbai police.
Sakhare also said that on July 1, the civic chief signed a new SOP for Covid-19 vaccination camps that are sought to be held at housing societies with more checks in place.