SURAT: Police have arrested a doctor and three other persons in Surat for allegedly black-marketing Remdesivir injections, which are in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients, an official said on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off, a crime branch team nabbed the four people from different areas here in Gujarat on Saturday and recovered three vials of the key anti-viral drug from them, he said.
The accused were trying to sell the drug at a higher price than its MRP (maximum retail price) to the needy persons, the police official said.
Efforts were also on to nab the person who supplied the Remdesivir vials to the accused, he said.
An FIR was lodged against the accused at the Lalgate police station under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, the official said.
Remdesivir is listed for use in serious COVID-19 patients.
In view of a sudden spike in demand of the drug due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Centre recently banned its export till the situation improves.
A few days back, the Gujarat High Court asked the state government to formulate a policy for the distribution of Remdesivir injections to hospitals in view of its high demand.