A sessions court on Monday granted bail to a 31-year-old nurse booked for illegal supply of antiviral drug Remdesivir used to treat complexities in COVID-19 infections, which was used by her co-accused, to be sold at hiked rates of Rs. 25,000 per vial.
Granting bail to the Antop Hill resident Urmila Tainya, the court noted that the investigating officer arrested her based on the statement of the co-accused and said that there is no other material against her available on record. It said that no fruitful purpose will be served keeping her behind bars and noted that she had been in jail since 18 May.
Additional Sessions Judge AH Laddhad said in his order that he had specifically asked the investigating officer to find from the supplier company of the vials, Sun Pharma, about the supply of injections seized from a co-accused. It said that the batch number of the drug is available from which the information regarding the supplier can be obtained. It is very surprising, the court said, that the investigating officer has failed to obtain the information. It seems the officer is probing based on the statements of accused persons, judge Laddhad said.
The woman had been booked by the Shivaji Park police station for the offence of cheating under the IPC as well as under provisions of the Essential Commodities Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The offence was registered upon secret information that one Rupesh Baikar was selling Remdesivir vials of 100 mg at hiked rates. A trap was laid and he was apprehended red-handed selling five vials at Rs. 1.25 lakh on 17 May. It is in his interrogation that he revealed that Tainya who is employed as a nurse at Sai Hospital was supplying the drug and that he was selling them on instructions of the owner Rajesh Patil of one Vedika Polyclinic. An FIR came to be lodged based on this information. During the probe, it was revealed that a storekeeper of Sai Hospital, who is an accused in the case, had supplied the vials to the nurse. He claimed to have obtained them through a partner of a pharmaceutical company, who was later arrested.
