Two arrested for black-marketing ‘black fungus’ drug in Delhi

The Saket SHO formed a team to check the information and take necessary legal action.
Representational image (Express Illustrations| Amit Bandre)
Representational image (Express Illustrations| Amit Bandre)

NEW DELHI: After oxygen cylinders, concentrators and Remdesivir, the national capital now witnessing a rise in the black-marketing and hoarding of Amphotericin-B, an anti-fungal drug used to treat Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus. Delhi Police has arrested two persons from Saket area for illegally selling at an exorbitant rate, it said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Rajnish Srivastava, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Murtaza Khan, a resident of Delhi. Srivastava deals in trading of medical equipments and ambulance modification, brought these injections from Lucknow and sold them in Delhi at a higher price. His driver Murtaza also helped him in this business, police said.

“On May 23rd, two members of a WhatsApp group ‘Covid Helper’, which helps people in arranging the medicines to needy patients of Covid-19 and black fungus, informed the police that while trying to arrange Amphotericin-B injection for a patient, they contacted a person who was selling this injection at a price of Rs 11,300 per injection which is about 36 times of the MRP,” said a senior police official. 

The complainants alleged that the person has agreed to deliver 20 injections for Rs 2,26,000 to them and they are going to meet him near Max Hospital, Saket to get the injections. The Saket SHO formed a team to check the information and take necessary legal action.  “At about 2pm, two persons called the complainants at Hauz Rani red light near Max Hospital for delivery of the injections. They noticed the police team and tried to run away but were apprehended. We recovered 20 injections from their car,” said the police.

“From preliminary interrogation it is revealed that Rajnish Srivastava has brought  these injections form Lucknow and was trying to sell these injection at a very high price taking advantage of the needy persons during such a hard times of pandemic Covid-19 and black fungus. An FIR has been registered and further  interrogation to find out the source of the drug is being carried out,” said the officials.

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