Woman held for illegal sale of remdesivir, tocilizumab

In the second case of illegal sale of remdesivir and tocilizumab injection in Thane commissionerate, a 50-year-old woman from Ulhasnagar was arrested on Thursday

In the second case of illegal sale of remdesivir and tocilizumab injection in Thane commissionerate, a 50-year-old woman from Ulhasnagar was arrested on Thursday night. The woman was caught selling tocilizumab injection, used for Covid-19 treatment, for ₹60,000 by a team of Ulhasnagar Central police station and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been booked for cheating under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

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According to police, the arrested accused, Neeta Panjwani, is a housewife and resident of Ulhasnagar. FDA officials received a tip-off and set up a trap. The police sent a dummy customer who struck a deal for tocilizumab injection and nabbed her when she came to deliver it.

An FDA official said, “The printed price for the injection was ₹40,545 but the accused was selling it for ₹60,000. She doesn’t have any doctor’s prescription or medical bill. She has not yet revealed how she got it. We are on the lookout for other accused who sold the injection to this woman. We are yet to reach to main dealer. The accused has also sold remdesivir to some people before this.”

Earlier this week, Thane anti-extortion cell arrested five accused from Naupada, Thane for illegally selling the drugs for ₹25,000 to ₹50,000.

FDA joint commissioner Sunil Bhardwaj said they are carrying out further investigation in both the Thane and Ulhasnagar cases. He said, “We are urging people to not fall for these black marketers. We are requesting everyone to reach to us on 1800222365 to complain if anyone asks for extra money for these injections.”