NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAY 3
Police have arrested four persons for allegedly trying to sell Remdesivir injections at exorbitant rates in Ahmedabad, an official said on Monday.
The drug is currently in high demand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Acting on a tip-off, the city police intercepted four persons moving on a two-wheeler on Sunday, the official from Ramol police station said.
“Four vials of Remdesivir were seized from them. They were planning to sell the drug to the needy persons at a much higher price than its MRP,” he said.
The four accused were booked under sections 420 (cheating) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Essential Commodities Act and the Disaster Management Act, the official said.
Gujarat Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja on Saturday said the police were keeping a close watch to thwart black- marketing of Remdesivir and other medicines being used in COVID-19 treatment.
A factory manufacturing spurious Remdesivir was busted by police in Surat on Saturday.
The demand for Remdesivir has shot up following a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The Gujarat police have so far registered more than 60 cases related to black-marketing of Remdesivir or selling its fake injections in the past few weeks, since the second wave of COVID-19 hit the state.
On Sunday, the state reported 12,978 new cases of COVID-19, taking the infection count to 5,94,602, while 153 fatalities pushed the death toll to 7,508, as per official figures.
