Police ask court to release seized vials of remdesivir
NEW DELHI: A local court is reviewing a plea by the Delhi Police’s crime branch to allow the release of 93 vials of seized remdesivir so that they can be given to health care facilities for patients amid a critical shortage and rampant black-marketing of the antiviral drug.
Police officers aware of the developments said the Rohini court may decide on the matter after a drug inspector verifies the authenticity of the drugs. The matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.
“We have requested the court to release the seized remdesivir injections to any hospital or NGO so they may reach the patients in need,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Monika Bhardwaj.
Apart from the crime branch, which seized 93 vials of the drug in three searches between April 21 and 25 from seven alleged hoarders, the south and west district police teams seized nine more vials and arrested five persons on Sunday.
Police units of the two districts are also likely to move court for the release of the nine seized vials.
“We will soon move an application, seeking the court’s permission to give the seized injections to the drug controller, hospitals or NGO,” said Atul Kumar Thakur, DCP (south).
Amid the unending spate of Covid-19 hospitalisations, the Capital has been hit by a severe shortage of several drugs used to treat Covid-19 patients such as remdesivir, faviprarir and ivermectin, a scarcity that has been exacerbated by hoarders and black-marketeers, with the drugs being sold at rates 10-15 times their retail value.
“Social media is flooded with messages and contact details of people selling the injections. Patients or their family members bargain with these sellers. The bidding starts at around ₹25,000 for a vial and often stretches to ₹70,000 or ₹80,000, depending on a customer’s desperation,” said a senior police officer.
For instance, the seven people arrested by the crime branch were selling each remdesivir injection for prices between ₹25,000 and ₹40,000.
“Interrogations revealed that they were getting the remdesivir from contacts in Punjab and Haryana,” Bhardwaj said.
The police have also cracked down on hoarders of medical oxygen, which is also critically short in the city.
On Saturday, a local court sanctioned the release for medical use of 48 cylinders containing 2,300 litres of medical oxygen that the south-west district police seized on Friday from a person in Dashrath Puri near Sagarpur.
“Any hospital or NGO that needs the oxygen may approach us with a request letter, along with an affidavit attesting that they will return the cylinders after use. The cylinders will remain with us as case property,” said Ingit Pratap Singh, DCP (south-west).
Considering the severity of the pandemic, case property seized in these cases, which may save lives, can be released to the rightful owner or, alternatively, to someone who needs it, said senior advocate Vikas Pahwa.
“A magistrate has the power to decide this application at the preliminary stage of the case itself,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police on Monday evening arrested two persons, one of them a nurse who works at a private hospital in Rohini, for allegedly illicitly selling remdesivir injections.
We have requested the court to release the injections to any hospital or NGO so they may reach patients
DCP, crime