Govt medical college staffers, chemist arrested for Remdesivir black marketing in MP

Following the arrest, the Shahdol Government Medical College administration terminated the services of the three accused staffers, an official said.

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Based on a tip-off, the police on Tuesday nabbed a lab technician, a lab assistant and a nurse of the Government Medical College and a drug store owner, additional superintendent of police Mukesh Vaishy said.

The accused were identified as lab assistant Deepak Gupta (23), technician Ujwal Dwivedi (30), staff nurse Sushma Sahu (28) and Amit Mishra (33), a drug store owner, he said.

The police seized six Remdesivir injections, five mobile phones and Rs 6.49 lakh cash from the accused, Vaishy said.

The accused were allegedly selling the anti-viral injection, meant for patients at the government medical college, to others at a higher price, he said.

The accused have been booked under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Madhya Pradesh Drug Control Act and Essential Commodities Act, the official said.

Shahdol's divisional commissioner Rajeev Sharma said services of Dwivedi and Sahu, both employed under the National Health Mission, and Gupta (an outsource employee) have been terminated with immediate effect.

A letter will be sent to the Madhya Pradesh Nursing Council directing them to cancel the registration of the accused nurse, who was working in the COVID-19 care ward, he said.

Similarly, a letter will also be written to the Madhya Pradesh Paramedical Council asking them to cancel the registration of the accused lab technician and lab assistant, the official added.

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