New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) The Delhi Police has busted an organised racket involved in the illegal diversion and sale of government-supplied medicines meant for free distribution in public hospitals, officials said on Sunday.

The Crime Branch arrested five persons in connection with the case and recovered medicines worth around Rs 70 lakh, along with two vehicles used for transportation.

According to police, the operation was carried out by the NR-II team of the Crime Branch under the supervision of ACP Girish Kaushik and led by Inspector Neeraj Sharma, following specific inputs developed by Sub-Inspector Pritam Chand.

The accused initially apprehended were identified as Neerej Kumar (53), Sushil Kumar (47), both residents of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Laxman Mukhia (48), a resident of Delhi. They were intercepted on April 2 near Rajendra Market in Tis Hazari while transporting a large consignment of medicines in a Mahindra Champion tempo and a Baleno car.

Police said the seized medicines were clearly marked “Government Supply Not For Sale”, indicating their illegal diversion into the open market.

During sustained interrogation, Neerej Kumar disclosed that he had been operating the illegal supply chain for the past one to one-and-a-half years, procuring medicines through a network of insiders and distributing them across multiple cities via brokers.

Based on his disclosure, two more accused — Binesh Kumar (54), a pharmacist-cum-storekeeper at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, and Prakash Mehto (30), a contractual helper at the same hospital — were arrested.

Investigations revealed that the duo played a key role in siphoning off medicines from hospital stock by manipulating records and facilitating their illegal sale. Mehto allegedly acted as a middleman, handling extraction, storage, and financial transactions, including UPI payments, in return for commissions.

The recovered stock included a large quantity of high-value antibiotics and critical care drugs such as Cefixime, Amoxycillin with Clavulanate, Ceftriaxone, Ceftazidime, Meropenem, Erythropoietin injections, and Rabies Antiserum, among other essential medicines.

“All recovered medicines and vehicles have been seized as case property, and a case has been registered at the Crime Branch police station as per law,” an official said.

Police said the racket involved a well-organised supply chain comprising hospital staff, transporters, and distributors, enabling the diversion of medicines meant for free distribution to patients in government hospitals.

Efforts are underway to identify other associates, trace financial transactions, and uncover the complete modus operandi of the network.

Officials said the crackdown highlights the commitment of the Delhi Police to curb the misuse of public resources and ensure that essential medicines reach the intended beneficiaries.

–IANS

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