The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old Kamothe resident for allegedly selling vials of Covishield, a COVID-19 vaccine, in the black market.
Acting on information, a Crime Branch team along with Food and Drug Administration officials approached the accused, identified as Kishore Khet Kumar, via a ‘fake customer’ and asked for delivery of the vaccine under Rajiv Gandhi flyover in Sector 8, Nerul.
He took ₹60,000 for 15 doses. “At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of two vials and 15 syringes. While one vial had 10 doses, the other contained five doses. Both the vials have been seized,” assistant police inspector Vaibhav Ronge from Unit II, Crime Branch, said.
According to the police, Mr. Kumar used to work as a helper with a pharmacist in Kamothe and would visit various hospitals for delivering medicines. “We suspect he might have procured the vials from one of those hospitals with the help of someone. We are still investigating,” senior police inspector Giridhar Gore from Unit II of Crime Branch said.
While the government is currently providing free vaccines against COVID-19 and the private hospitals charge ₹800 per dose, the accused was selling each dose for ₹4,000.
A case under Sections of cheating of the Indian Penal Code, the Essential Commodities Act, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act was registered against the accused with the Nerul police. Mr. Kumar, a Class X passout, has been remanded in police custody till August 27.
