The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday lodged an FIR against two persons in allegedly black-marketing the lifesaving medicine Remdesivir during the Coronavirus pandemic in Jharkhand.
The ED sources said that the case was lodged against Rajiv Singh and Manish Kumar Sinha based on the FIR by Ranchi police and subsequent investigation of this case by the CID.
The ED will look into the financial aspect of this case. The investigation will focus on whether Singh is the lone person involved in the black-marketing or he is part of a syndicate that profited money out of the illegal sale of this medicine. Notably, in the charge sheet, the CID has claimed that the accused made huge money out of the black-marketing.
CID submitted the charge sheet against them before Ranchi court. Both were arrested by Ranchi police for allegedly selling Remdesivir at a high rate. Singh is the main accused of the case.
In April this year, a team of local news channels had purchased five Remdesivir from Singh and paid Rs 1.10 lakh to him. The news channel, later on, aired it and informed Director (Medicine) Jharkhand and senior Police officials about the black marketing of the medicine.
Police arrested Singh and booked him under sections Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and IPC. Taking suo moto cognizance, the Jharkhand High Court decided to monitor the investigation of the case. But the court expressed dissatisfaction over the nature and quality of the investigation carried by Jharkhand Police. The High Court raised questions after Ranchi rural SP Naushad Alam was not made the accused in this case. He had asked accused Rajiv Singh to arrange Remdesivir for a person named Guddu. Alam was made an approver of the case. The high court had expressed displeasure over CID for making Alam as approval without approval and knowledge of the high court.
The court had asked as to why IPS should not be presumed as a protector to people indulged in black-marketing since he purchased medicine from very people.