Pune: Baramati Police have arrested four persons for allegedly selling Paracetamol in vials of Remdesivir. During the operation, the police have arrested a duo for allegedly selling the anti-viral drug for Rs 35,000 on the black market.

The accused have been identified as Dilip Gaikwad, Sandeep Gaikwad, Prashant Dharat, Shankar Bhise. As per the formal complaint lodged by Drug Inspector Vijay Nangre, all four accused have been booked as per Section 18 and Section 27 (1) (2) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police have also seized a vehicle (MH 43 AP 9696) during the operation.

HOW THE RACKET WAS BUSTED?

On Friday, police received a tip-off that two persons allegedly selling Remdesivir were about to meet in Baramati’s Pencil Chowk. The police personnel under the guidance of Police Inspector Mahesh Dhavan, Assistant Police Inspector Yogesh Vidhate arrested the duo at 12.30 midnight. The police found empty bottles of Remdesivir vials with them. Their packs and coverings were missing. On the questioning, one of the accused Sandeep Gaikwad used to collect empty bottles from the hospitals. The gang used to refill the bottle with Paracetamol liquid and packed it in such case that it would look original.

Another accused Dilip Gaikwad was working as a representative for a health insurance company, thus people enquired to him about the vials. The gang sold the Paracetamol under the pretext of Remdesivir vials at exorbitant price.

Senior Police Inspector Narayan Shirgaonkar has said, “We will probe the case and will find to how many patients this gang sold the vials of Paracetamol. The police will take strict action against the agents who are selling this drug without a licence.

Meanwhile, Pune is battling the acute shortage of life-saving drug for the past few days. Also, the black marketing of this drug is on the rise. Pune Police have set up as many as 10 teams to keep a check on the black-marketing and illegal sale of the drug, which is in high demand due to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases across Maharashtra.