Cops contact US Embassy over traveller who forged Covid-19 test result

The police has contacted the US Embassy to share the report and the name of a person who got his Covid-19 test results forged to travel to the US along with his

The police has contacted the US Embassy to share the report and the name of a person who got his Covid-19 test results forged to travel to the US along with his wife on November 18. The instance of forged results came under the police scanner after it busted a fake pathology lab at Sainikhera village in Sector 30 three days ago and arrested two persons.

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The police said the man had travelled to the US on a work visa and they are still trying to trace the couple’s address.

Harish Budhiraja, inspector, chief minister’s flying squad, said, “They had to travel to the US on November 18. The man had tested positive but as his flight tickets were booked, he paid Rs3,000 for a forged report, which showed his result as negative.”

The police had busted the lab after being tipped off by informers, who told them that at least 10 such reports were being forged every day.

Inderjeet Yadav, deputy superintendent of police, Crime Investigation Department, said there is a nexus of people in the city who are fabricating Covid-19 test reports by charging extra money. “We arrested two suspects and recovered a mobile phone which had around 10 forged reports, including that of the couple who travelled to the US,” he said.

The police have identified the accused who were running the lab as one Anirban Roy, of Kolkata, and Parimal Roy, of Murshidabad. The duo was residing in a rented accommodation in the village and was involved in this illegal practice for the last two months, said police.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said that the suspects, during questioning, revealed that people also paid Rs 1,400 for forged positive reports to avail of leaves from work. “He has delivered more than 20 such reports and more are expected to surface during the investigation. We have seized the mobile phone of the suspect arrested and scanning all the reports. So far, 12 reports and four names of the lab providing false reports have surfaced. A Delhi lab is also under the scanner,” he said.

The police teams are conducting technical surveillance to ascertain details about the flight boarded by the couple.

The suspects were operating under the banner of ‘Medikartz Pathology Lab and Medical Tourism.’ The lab has claimed a tie-up with a diagnostics facility in Delhi, but could not furnish record of the same, said police. “We are also questioning staff of Delhi lab to get more details in the case and to know their role in partnering with this lab,” Rao said.

A case under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act was registered at the Sector 40 police station.