New Delhi, April 5 The Delhi Police has uncovered a racket involved in the illegal diversion and sale of government-supplied medicines intended for free distribution in hospitals, and has seized drugs worth Rs 70 lakh, an official said on Sunday.
Five individuals, including a pharmacist and a contractual employee at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital, have been arrested in connection with the case, police said in a statement.
The accused have been identified as Neeraj Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Laxman Mukhia, Binesh Kumar, and Prakash Mehto.
"Medicines worth approximately Rs 70 lakh, along with a tempo and a car used for transportation, were recovered from their possession," the official said.
According to the police, the accused were apprehended in the Tis Hazari area while transporting consignments marked "Govt supply, not for sale".
During interrogation, it was found that the racket had been operating for over a year, with medicines being siphoned off from hospital stocks and sold in the open market through a network of brokers in multiple cities.
Police said that Neeraj Kumar, the pharmacist, manipulated stock records, while the helper facilitated the extraction and delivery of medicines.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace financial transactions, the official said.