Remdesivir sold for Rs 25,000, chemist held in Calcutta- police provided helpline to report black marketing of oxygen, plasma, medicines or hospital beds

Crisis of the medicine and alleged inability of smaller hospitals to source it have left patients’ relatives with no option but to buy it from blackmarket

Some of the seized remdesivir vials.: Telegraph picture

Monalisa Chaudhuri   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |   14.05.21: Three men, including a pharmacy owner, have been arrested for allegedly trying to sell a vial of remdesivir, a medicine at times used to treat Covid, for Rs 25,000, which is almost 10 times the price, police said.

The police have seized 132 vials of the medicine that were allegedly illegally stashed in an apartment on Chapel Road in Hastings. One of these vials was about to be sold for Rs 25,000 to a family in Gariahat when police intervened and arrested the people allegedly involved in the racket.

A reported crisis of remdesivir and alleged inability of comparatively smaller hospitals to source the medicine have left patients’ relatives with no option but to buy it from the blackmarket at a premium. 

Earlier, too, the city police had made multiple arrests in connection with illegal hoarding and sale of remdesivir. 

“A resident of Gariahat lodged a complaint alleging that someone was charging Rs 25,000 for a single vial of remdesivir, whose original cost is Rs 2,700. We pursued the case and found that the man who was offering them the medicine was in touch with a medicine shop owner,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

On Wednesday night, a team from Lalbazar picked up Raj Kumar Roy Chowdhury, of Sarat Ghosh Garden Road in Kasba, who had allegedly approached the complainant, and Indrajit Hazra, 41, of Sahapur Colony, who runs a medicine shop. Hazra was arrested from a location on Diamond Harbour Road. 

Statements from the arrested duo led the cops to Debabrata Sahoo, 36, of Chapel Road, who allegedly had more than 100 vials at home. He allegedly failed to produce any documents for the medicine, which can only be procured by hospitals.

“A preliminary investigation suggests Sahoo had sold the vial for Rs 12,000 to Hazra. The latter was trying to sell it to a patient party through a middleman for Rs 25,000,” said an officer.

The police said a sample of the medicine would be sent for chemical examinations to ascertain its authenticity. 

An order from the state health department on April 24 mentioned that remdesivir was “not needed for the treatment of all Covid-19 patients''. Only “10-20 per cent of all Covid cases” requires treatment with remdesivir. 

The order also stated: “No hospital/nursing home should give prescription to patients for Remdesivir. It is the responsibility of the hospital to arrange it for their patient.”

But, in reality, many hospitals are failing to procure the medicine, leaving patients’ relatives with no option but to look for it in the blackmarket.

Calcutta police on Thursday issued a helpline and the email ID of the joint commissioner of crime to report financial frauds relating to black marketing of oxygen, plasma, medicines or hospital beds through social media.

Email: jtcpcrime@kolkatapolice.gov.in

Call: 9874909640