Maharashtra: Four held in Nanded for selling remdesivir at higher price

A vial of Remdesivir. Pic/AFP

Police on Wednesday detained four persons in Maharashtra's Nanded for allegedly selling remdesivir injections at a higher price, an official said. The operation was carried out jointly by the Nanded police and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials, in which dummy customers were sent to trap the accused, the official said. Remdesivir is considered a key anti-viral drug in the fight against COVID-19, especially in adult patients with severe complications.

"On Wednesday, a relative of a coronavirus patient complained to the local crime branch that although the cost of one remdesivir injection is Rs 5,400, it is being sold at Rs 8,000 by persons in the city," he said. Thereafter, a team was formed to take action and Veerbhadra Swami (26), Babarao Padole (25), Balaji Dhonde (34) and Vishwajeet Kamble (36) were detained from Shivajinagar area in Nanded, he said.

"There is a shortage of remdesivir and we came to know that it is being sold in black. The police and other officials acted on a tip-off and detained the four accused and recovered seven injections from them," Nanded Superintendent of Police Pramod Shewale said.

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