Kolkata
Just 48 hours after the fake vaccination camp was busted, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the health minister stepped on gas on Saturday and instructed the police to take strong action against Debanjan Deb, the mastermind. Following the order, a PIL was filed in Calcutta High Court by Special Investigation Team (SIT) on attaching 307 IPC and minutes after getting affirmation from the court IPC 307 attempt to murder has also been attached against the scam kingpin who is in police custody till July 2.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari a day after visiting the state health dept office had written to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and sought central agency probe against the vaccination scam.
It has now come to light all the doses were fake. The vials with ‘Covishied’ and ‘Covaxin’ labels were actually of Amikacin injections, an antibiotic. Amikacin is used to treat certain bacteria-caused serious infections such as meningitis (infection of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord) and infections of the blood, abdomen (stomach area), lungs, skin, bones, joints, and urinary tract.
UNEARTHING DEBANJAN
-- Debanjan Deb’s father was Dy Excise Collector. Debanjan himself appeared for the UPSC examination but couldn’t crack it.
-- He lied to everyone and called himself an IAS officer. From 2014 to 2017, he was involved in event management and made documentary films.
-- During the pandemic situation, he started a business of selling sanitizers and masks. He got in touch with various clubs and organized community kitchen, mask distribution etc. and through the so called ‘social work’ he started calling several Trinamool Congress’ leaders.
-- During the second wave he had supplied masks and sanitizers to KMC. During the second wave, people approached him for vaccines.
-- Gradually faking his identity as Joint Commissioner of KMC he started using the flag of KMC on his rented vehicle and also wrote letters on KMC pads and had also opened two bank accounts under KMCs name and in the name of clearing tenders, he duped people of lakhs of rupees.
Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty unwell with dehydration, low
BP after fake vax shot
HOW MP MIMI WALKED INTO IT
According to MP Mimi Chakraborty, who took the jab on June 22 following an invitation from alleged Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), to encourage people to get vaccinated, the MP on Tuesday took her "first jab" from the fake centre. Failing to get her vax certificate, she sensed something fishy. She then complained the matter to the police after which the fake vaccination racket was busted.
Vax for 60+: Sluggish after initial high
The pace of vaccination of the 60-plus population has become sluggish in the past few weeks after an initial high, with healthcare experts attributing it to mobility issues and misinformation and unsubstantiated apprehensions about the jabs. According to Health Ministry data, 2.29 crore elderly people have been fully vaccinated so far while 6.71 crore have received just one dose of COVID-19 vaccine till now. The 60-plus population in India was projected to be at 14.3 crore in 2021, so that would imply that just 16 per cent of them have been fully vaccinated till now.
Take immediate containment measures, Centre tells K’taka
The Centre has urged Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures, including preventing crowds, conducting widespread testing as well as increasing vaccine coverage on a priority basis in districts where the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 has been detected.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar in this regard.
8 cases found in Madhya Pradesh
At least eight persons have been found infected with the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh so far, state Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said on Saturday, adding none of the contacts of these patients was found to be infected with this strain.
Two persons who died in May this year were found to be infected with the Delta Plus variant. Speaking to reporters, Sarang said the patients infected with the Delta Plus variant are being tested as per protocol and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been regularly sharing information with the state.
