Hoarding, black marketing of medicines and oxygen devices soars in Delhi

The second wave of COVID-19 has not just inflicted pain and hardship on patients and their families – it has also created a flourishing black market for desperately needed medicines and oxygen devices.

In Delhi where patients continue to struggle for hospital beds, oxygen, antiviral injections and oxygen concentrators, police have found nearly a hundred cases over the last month of people hoarding these items or selling them at exorbitant rates.

The biggest such case was filed against Navneet Kalra, owner of Khan Chacha, Town Hall, and Nege & Ju restaurants in Khan Market and Lodhi Colony.

So far, Delhi police has seized about 500 oxygen concentrators from places of business owned by or related to Kalra across Delhi. It issued a look-out circular against the restaurateur on May 10.

Navneet Kalra and his team were allegedly using a mobile application and social media platforms to take in orders which were then being distributed through restaurants across Delhi.

As the pandemic situation worsens and the healthcare system in the capital city continues to struggle, more cases of people hoarding medicines and medical equipment are coming up, official from the Delhi police told Moneycontrol.

“We are hearing reports of hospitals hoarding cylinders for patients, they are still taking supplies of oxygen cylinders and medicines but have closed their wards from admitting COVID patients,” an officer said alleging a hospital in Nirman Vihar of hoarding medical supplies.

Most cases show that the people arrested for such crimes are those connected to hospitals and are either doctors, security guards, nurses or personal working at hospitals.

Apart from people working at hospitals, medical salespersons, chemists, and drivers who work for private ambulance and cab services are involved, Delhi police officials said.

The Delhi police is also tracking numbers circulating on WhatsApp and is also posing as decoy customers outside hospitals at a time when black marketing of goods has gone through the roof.

Police officials said that after the government approved cash payment of over 200,000 rupees for COVID treatment on May 7, there have been increased reports of black marketing of medical essentials.

“On the weekend we stopped close to 20 vehicles travelling around Ashram, New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh and Kalkaji with all of them carrying oxygen cylinders. Till last week we would only see six or seven vehicles,” the station house officer at a local police station said.

He said there were a lot more reports coming in now, compared to earlier of medical supplies being distributed illegally.

The seizure of a large number of medical equipment has also created another concern for the Delhi Police: Ways for quick disposal of seized material.

The station house officer said that in the past week there have been two unsuccessful attempts of gangs trying to break into police godowns and storage units to steal seized equipment.

Normally in case of goods seized during raids, they become case property and are kept in police storage facilities or ‘malkhanas’.

They can only be released upon directions from the courts where the matter is heard.

But in case of COVID-19 related equipment the police have started taking immediate instructions from courts for effecting their release and circulation.

Local police stations have set up small taskforces to speak to officials at nearby hospitals and try and push seized medicines and equipment to them as the need arises, the station house officer said.

In some cases, doctors are giving numbers of police officials to patients who urgently require medical equipment, the officer said.

“We had a family come from Dwarka to collect an oxygen cylinder on Sunday (May 9). The doctor got in touch with us for oxygen cylinders for an old lady and sent the family with a prescription,” the officer added.

As of May 10, the Delhi police have officially released 70 oxygen cylinders to Terapanth Ansari Hospital, World Brain Centre Hospital, Aarya Hospital and Bhagat Chandra Hospital, officials said.

Another 60 have been released to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and 40 concentrators have been given to CAPF Hospital and remaining to COVID care centres.