VISAKHAPATNAM: Vijayawada police arrested a health officer and his assistant for administering anti-Covid vaccines to people and selling them in black market, on Saturday.
The police recovered five Covaxin and six Covishield vials from their possession and registered a case against them under relevant sections of the IPC and Disaster Management Act.
The accused reportedly collected Rs 600 to Rs 1000 for administering each vaccine dose.
According to police, Dr NS Raju, a medical officer at G Kondur government hospital, was deployed at ‘104’ helpline at the Vijayawada sub-collector’s office two weeks ago.
When corportors Sarvani Murthy and Penumatsa Sirisha came to know of the irregularity, they lodged a complaint with the police which laid a trap and caught him red-handed.
“The accused managed to procure the vaccines from vaccination points. An investigation is on to find who supplied vaccines to the accused,” said circle inspector V Bala Murali Krishna.