This story is from March 29, 2020

Mumbai: Three held for black market sale of Rs 2.5 lakh hand sanitiser

Three men, including two MBA students, were arrested for stocking and black marketing hand sanitisers in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Mumbai: Three held for black market sale of Rs 2.5 lakh hand sanitiser
Representative image
MUMBAI: Three men, including two MBA students, were arrested for stocking and black marketing hand sanitisers in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Acting on a tip-off, crime branch unit 6 raided a flat opposite Citylight Cinema and arrested Viral Dhariya (20), Jainam Dedhiya (21) and Neeraj Vyas (49). They were booked under the Essential Commoditieis Act and the IPC.
More than 5,000 bottles of sanitisers worth Rs 2.5 lakh were seized from them.
Deputy police commissioner (crime) Akbar Pathan said the price of the sanitisers in the wholesale market is around Rs 25-30 per 100ml bottle, and the accused were selling it for Rs 50-60 to medical shops. "The shopkeepers then sold these bottles for anywhere between Rs 65 and Rs 90, depending on the locality. The maximum retail price cannot exceed Rs 60. We want to send a strong message those indulging in black marketing of essential commodities," said Pathan.
An employee of the laboratory that the three procured the sanitisers from, who is distant relative of one of the accused, is believed to have helped them.
In another case in Borivli (west), the owner of a medical store was arrested for selling sanitisers at the MRP, instead of the rates fixed by the government. Santosh Singh (21) approached the MHB Colony police on March 25, after the shop owner sold him a 500ml bottle for Rs 630, instead of prescribed Rs 250. He was booked under section 188 of the IPC and released on bail.
At a nakabandi in Malad (E) on Saturday, a motorist was arrested for carrying 160 5L cans of alleged sanitiser worth Rs 80,000 without a valid licence of manufacturing. Police sent the liquid in the cans for analysis. Neelkumar Shah said he had a sanitiser manufacturing company in Surat, and had come to sell the sanitisers in Lower Parel. Shah was later released on bail.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA