Mumbai: Two held in Mira Road for black marketing Covid-19 injection Remdesivir

MUMBAI: Two men from Mira Road have been arrested for black marketing of Remdesivir, the injection used for treatment of Covid-19 patient. They claimed to have procured the drug from the pharmacist of a private hospital in Bandra.
Acting on a tip-off, the Mira Road police send a decoy customer to Sonu Darshi (25), who runs a medical shop in Saibaba Nagar, Mira Road (east).He and his accomplice Rodrigues Raul (31) were caught red-handed with the 100 mg injection. The injection was being sold for Rs 20,000 as against Rs 5,400, said the police.
Four injections were seized from them. Police said that two staffers of the hospital pharmacist are being questioned.
It is a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for emergency treatment of adults with confirmed Covid19 infection.
The drug is to be made available through government and hospital channels only. There is a shortage of injection amid fears of hoarding and black marketing.
The two have been booked under IPC section 420 for cheating. They have also been charged under sections of the Essential Commodities Act and Drug and Cosmetics Act.