Hyderabad: Three more persons, including a staff nurse, have been arrested for selling the in-demand Remdesivir drug, used for treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients, at high prices and black marketing it. The accused were taken into custody on April 26 after they were found moving in a suspicious manner near the Dilsukhnagar metro station.
According to the Rachakonda police, the accused have been identified as Chennampally Parusharamulu, Ramavath Janu and Sapavath Janu. Of them, Parusharamulu works as a staff nurse at Sun Rise Hospital, Hayathnagar. Given the high demand for the Remdesivir drug, he began sourcing the drug and selling it for Rs 15,500 per vial, as against its MRP of Rs 3490.
After their arrest, the police seized six injections of the Remdesivir drug, from Hetero Healthcare, from their possession. The other two accused were helping Parashuramulu black market the drug from the last 10 days. They were arrested from around 10 p.m. at Dilsukhnagar. Currently, the state government has also imposed a night curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., keeping in mind the devastating second wave of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the state reported more than 10,000 cases alone. Over the last three weeks, Telangana has seen thousands of new cases, due to which there has been a huge demand for the Remdesivir drug, and also for oxygen beds and ventilators in private hospitals.