Indore: Driver of Silawat's wife refutes Remdesivir black marketing allegations

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore police on Wednesday questioned the driver of Madhya Pradesh Minister Tulsi Silawat's wife over black marketing Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug used in the treatment of COVID-19.

This came after Puneel Agrawal, who was allegedly arrested over the black marketing Remdesivir on Monday, accused that he received the anti-viral drug from Govind Rajput, who is the driver of Silawat's wife.

"Govind informed police that he was tested positive a few days back and received Remdesivir vials from Punit Agrawal. Govind said that he returned the unused vials to Punit," Vijay Nagar Police Station officer Tehzeeb Qazi told ANI.

Earlier, the police arrested Punit Agrawal, the driver of Indore's District Health Officer Dr Poornima Gadariya, on Monday for allegedly black marketing Remdesivir. The accused sold the injections at Rs 15,000 each.

"I bought the Remdesivir injections at Rs 14,000 per vials from Govind Rajput, who is the driver for the wife of Tulsi Silawat," Agrawal had said.

Punit further informed that Govind also works for the same private travel agency and are colleagues. "I have informed the police about Govind but no action has been taken," he added.

The police said that Punit received the injections from his acquaintance, who tested positive and left with the drug after being tested negative.

Reacting to the accusation, Madhya Pradesh Minister Tulsi Silawat said, "The matter should be investigated and strict action should be taken against the culprit. Both Puneet and Govind are drivers working for private travel." "I am not denying that Govind works at my place, but both Puneet and Govind are friends and work for the same travels," he added.

The police had also seized two vials of Remdesivir from his possession. A case has been registered against the driver and an investigation into the matter is underway.

According to official data, there are 82,967 active cases of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh.