Hospital security guard held for selling Remdesivir injections at inflated rate

A 34-year-old security guard of a private hospital has been arrested for allegedly selling Remdesivir injections at higher rates, police said on Friday.

A 34-year-old security guard of a private hospital has been arrested for allegedly selling Remdesivir injections at higher rates, police said on Friday. The accused, who was posted at the COVID ward of the hospital, used to steal the injections lying on the bedside tray of patients while they were asleep and sell it at exorbitant rates, police said. The accused has been identified as Prahlad Kumar, a resident of Rohini, they said. On receiving information on Thursday that a man would come near the Nangloi Metro Station to deliver Remdesivir injections, the police laid a trap and apprehended the accused, a senior police officer said.

Kumar had been working as a security guard at the COVID ward in Agrasen International Hospital in Rohini for the last two years, police said. He took injections from the tray of patients admitted in the ward while they were asleep and sold them at Rs 20,000 each against its MRP of Rs 3,490, police said.

In a separate incident, the police said they have arrested two men for allegedly selling fake Remdesivir injections. The accused have been identified as Kamal (25) and Deepak (29), both residents Shalimar Bagh, they said. The police received a call about a man selling fake injections. The police contacted the victim who alleged that after getting information from the internet, he got in touch with the Remdesivir dealer as he required the injection for his uncle who was hospitalised due to COVID.

The suspect named Rahul came to Rohini and finalised the deal and was given Rs 30,000 after he handed over one Remdesivir injection to the victim, police said. The victim's uncle, however, passed away before he was administered the injection. After checking with a doctor, the victim found that the injection was fake and called the police, they said. After collecting the details of the suspect, the police arrested the two accused. Police recovered 15 fake Remdesivir injections, Rs 34,000 in cash, a car and one oxygen concentrator machine from their possession, they said. Kamal has been working as a dialysis staff at a hospital in Shalimar Bagh while Deepak, his roommate, runs a firm which provides nurses and attendants for home care patients, police added. Similarly in southeast district, a man was arrested for allegedly selling essentials used for COVID treatment at higher rates, police said. The accused was identified as Abhishek Pruthi, a resident of Govindpuri. He is a private tutor. On Tuesday, officials of Kalkaji police station received a tip-off that a man named Abhishek Pruthi was demanding higher rate for Ramdesivir injection. A raid was conducted and the accused was nabbed from his residence. Pruthi disclosed that when his family members had tested positive for COVID, he had purchased medicines, they said. After his family members recovered, he decided to earn a quick buck by selling the medicines at higher rates after advertising about it on his WhatsApp status. One mobile phone, medical equipments, medicines and steroids used in the treatment of coronavirus were recovered from his possession, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)