Pune: In a major operation busted by the Crime Branch of Pune City police, two persons, including a nurse were arrested from a private hospital, for allegedly selling Remdesivir injections at an exorbitant price.
Seven teams have been formed by police to keep an eye on black marketing and illegal sale of the Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug which is in huge demand amid the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Pune.
Senior Inspector Shilpa Chavan of the Crime Branche received a tip-off about a person trying to sell Remdesivir at more than the actual price. The police personnel laid a trap in Dattanagar area of Pune and arrested one person. Some vials of the Remdesivir were recovered from there. The arrest also led the police to arrest a nurse working in a private hospital in Hinjewadi area.
The acussed is identified as Pruthviraj Sandip Mulik (22), resident of Katraj. An FIR has been registered against them at Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station. The accussed are booked under a relevant sections of IPC, Section 420 (Cheating), 34 (Common Intention) and relevant sections of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order 2013,
WHAT IS REMDESIVIR
The anti-viral medication Remdesivir is the first drug to get a nod by the FDA to help fight SARS-CoV 2, the virus that causes coronavirus. For use in hospitalised patients only, primary data shows those with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement recovered faster after receiving Remdesivir.
A US-based pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, manufactured this medicine and established through clinical trials that it helps speed up the recovery of a patient suffering with mild symptoms.
Earlier on Friday, officials from Pimpri Chinchwad Police’s social security cell had nabbed four people including two who worked at different hospitals, for the sale of Remdesivir vials in black market.
Meanwhile, Pune police have launched a special drive to check illegal sale of Remdesivir.