Mumbai cops grill pharma director over ‘excess’ Remdesivir stock

BJP accuses ruling Shiv Sena in Maharastra of playing politics amid pandemic

Mumbai police questioned a pharma company director over alleged excess stock of the Remdesivir drug and allowed him to leave after he produced necessary documents, a police official said yesterday.

“He had stocked at least 60,000 vials. The state and central governments had allowed him to sell the stock, originally meant for export, in the domestic market due to scarcity of the drug used to treat coronavirus patients,” the police official said.

The opposition BJP in Maharashtra objected to the executive’s grilling by Mumbai police, saying the Shiv Sena-led government in the state was playing politics amid the pandemic.

“Four days ago we had requested Bruck Pharma to supply us Remdesivir but they couldn’t until permission was given. I spoke to union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and we got FDA’s permission,” former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

BJP’s claim

The BJP leader claimed that a Maharashtra minister’s officer on special duty called the pharma executive and asked him how he could provide Remdesivir on the appeal of opposition parties. The pharma executive was picked up from his house on Saturday night by 10 policemen, Fadnavis said, describing the action as ‘beyond his imagination’.

The leader of opposition in said the government was harassing the Daman-based pharma as BJP leaders approached him for the supply of the antiviral medication to the state.

‘We (BJP leaders) had contacted Bruck Pharma to supply the stock to Maharashtra as the state is facing a shortage of Remdesivir vials. We even informed the state FDA minister about it and approached the Union government seeking necessary permissions,” Fadnavis said

Some Maharashtra BJP leaders went to Daman recently to meet Bruck Pharma officials, requesting them to sell their exportable stock in Maharashtra, he added.

“They were told by the company that if the centre and state government approve, they will sell their entire stock to Maharashtra,” Fadnavis said.

A senior Mumbai police official said: “A director of a pharma company, which supplies Remdesivir, was questioned by the police in connection with the stock of the vials.”

“Based on specific information, police held the pharma company director at Vile Parle,” he said.

After export was banned, he had stocked up at least 60,000 vials of the drug. The state and central government has allowed him to sell it in the (domestic) market, he said.

Four days ago we had requested Bruck Pharma to supply us Remdesivir but they couldn’t until permission was given.”

Devendra Fadnavis | Ex-CM, Maharashtra

No laws violated

“As we found he did not violate any laws, we did not take any legal action against him. He was questioned about the stock, following which he produced necessary documents,” the official said.