FIR against Mountstar Hospital for unethical sale of remdesivir

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 28

Four days after the enquiry panel found Mountstar Hospital (earlier Mayo Hospital) in Sector 69 here guilty of “unethical sale” of remdesivir, an FIR was registered against the hospital today.

In a spot

In its report submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, the SDM Jagdish Sehgal-led panel had recommended an FIR against the hospital management, chief financial officer Mukesh Sharma and his son Kshitij Sharma.

An FIR under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the IPC, Section 51(b), 58 of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 has been registered against the Mountstar Hospital management at the Phase 8 police station, said the police.

Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said the FIR had been lodged against the hospital after the committee headed by Mohali SDM found the hospital guilty of selling 83 vials of remdesivir on black market.

In its report submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, the SDM Jagdish Sehgal-led panel had recommended an FIR against the hospital management, chief financial officer (CFO) Mukesh Sharma and his son Kshitij Sharma.

Notably, the Phase 8 police station had received a secret complaint against M/s Chandigarh Healthcare Pvt Ltd and Mountstar Hospital and it’s pharmacy regarding siphoning of remdesivir injections supplied by the government for Covid patients admitted to the hospital and their unethical over-the-counter sale to unidentified persons.

After receiving the complaint, a four-member committee was constituted comprising SDM Jaideep Sehgal, Deputy Superintendent of Police Deep Kamal, Senior Medical Officer Dr Vijay Bhagat and Drug Inspector Jai Singh.

The committee found that the bills for the injection were issued in the name of a prominent cement manufacturing firm besides the CFO and a few doctors of the hospital.

One bill was issued in the name of a woman on March 17 even as she was admitted to the hospital on March 18.

Interestingly, the hospital staff in a written statement to the panel denied the purchase of remdesivir injections.

Earlier, the three directors of the hospital – Deepak Tyagi, Virender Dhankhad and Dr Manoj Sharma – had accused the CFO and his son of illegally procuring remdesivir injections and selling them at a premium to patients outside the hospital.

Mukesh Sharma on the other hand, alleged that the directors fabricated the documents pertaining to the drug sale to frame him.

Remdesivir is provided to private hospitals at controlled rate by the state government.