7 held for selling pneumonia injections as Remdesivir in Noida

Noida: With the arrest of seven persons, the Noida police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang that sold vials of injections used in pneumonia treatment packaged as remdesivir.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Due to its high demand, it is not easily available in the market.

The accused have been identified as Musir, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Ali, Azharuddin, Abdul Rahman, Deepanshu alias Dharamvir Vishwakarma and Bunty Singh, all residents of Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

While some work as nursing staff with hospitals in Delhi-NCR, others are medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies, they said.

The accused used their credentials to target gullible people who needed remdesivir injections in hospitals and at pharmacies, they said.

The accused sold a vial between Rs 40,000 and Rs 45,000 when it normally does not cost more than Rs 3,500 depending on the manufacturer, the police said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ranvijay Singh said police in Gautam Buddh Nagar district have been alert and are tracking such elements engaged in hoarding and black marketing of resources, including medicines, which are in demand during the ongoing pandemic.

"Today, the teams of ACP 2 and Sector 58 police station met with success after they arrested these seven people who were part of a gang that sold injections used in pneumonia treatment to needy persons after wrapping them in labels of remdesivir injection," he said.

Singh said the gang members used their credentials to illegally make huge profits by defrauding gullible and needy people.

Nine vials of genuine and 140 vials of fake remdesivir injections and Rs 2.45 lakh cash, among other items, were recovered from the accused, the police said.

An FIR has been lodged against the accused at Sector 58 police station under provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act besides sections 420 (cheating), 468 and 470 (both related to forgery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Singh said.