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Four arrested for blackmarketing of anti-fungal injections
The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have busted a gang engaged in the black marketing of anti-fungal injections and arrested four persons on Monday afternoon
The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have busted a gang engaged in the black marketing of anti-fungal injections and arrested four persons on Monday afternoon.
Amongst the arrested includes a woman who aided the trio in the crime. The police have recovered three vials of D Liposomol Amphoterein B injection from their possession.
The accused arrested have been identified as Gaurav Jaywant Jagtap (31), a resident of Kalakhadal road in Wakad, Amol Ashok Manjrekar (39) , a resident of Sus road, Pashan, Ganesh Kaka Kotme (32),a resident of Janta Vasahat and Mamta Devraoji Jalit ( 24) from Rupeenagar in Nigdi. The fifth accused identified as Basavraj, a resident of Solapur is still at large, and a team has been sent to arrest him.
The anti-goonda squad led by assistant police inspector Harish Mane received a tip off regarding the arrival of the accused for selling the injections in the black market. Accordingly, a trap was laid, and the accused taken into custody.
API said “The accused were found selling the anti-fungal injections in the market far above the market price without any doctor’s prescription. We have seized three vials of injections estimated to be worth ₹1.15 lakh from them and all of them have been arrested.”
Bhagyshree Abhiram Yadav (44), an inspector attached to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) office has lodged an FIR against the accused at Wakad police station.
The accused have been charged under IPC 420 (cheating) and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the drugs (prices control) order 2013, the essential commodities Act, 1955 and the drugs and cosmetics Act 1940, illegal purchase of injection without doctor’s prescription and selling above the prices.
It may be recalled that the Pimpri-Chinchwad police had arrested four persons including two siblings - one from Aundh-based private hospital and public hospital and another from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)-run Covid Care Centre (CCC) at Baner for the black marketing of Remdesivir injections which are used in the treatment of Covid-19.
The accused were found to selling the injection at a price of ₹11,000 and it was the first case in Pune where the police had acted against black marketing of the medicine at a time when there was severe shortage of the injection for the patients.
According to the police, currently with the rise in number of Mucormycosis patients, the black-marketing of Amphotericin B-injection IP 50 mg, which is used to treat Mucormycosis, a fungal infection had increased. The police have cautioned citizens not to purchase medicines and injections that do not have authentic details especially bonafide medical prescription.
