Kolkata: Fake HIV test kits racket

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Fake medical kits racket busted

Three arrested, charged with tampering dates of manufacture and

expiry on kits for HIV, malaria, hepatitis tests

Express News Service

Kolkata, September 28: FOLLOWING a police inquiry, a principal

supplier of medical kits -- used for testing for infections like

HIV, hepatitis, malaria and others -- was charged with tampering the

manufacturing and expiry dates of the kits. These kits with tampered

labels of expiry dates were reportedly supplied to government

hospitals, blood banks and even private retail outlets over the last

two years. The supplier used to even cater to neighbouring States.

Following an official complaint lodged by the the State Health

Department, the detective department of the Kolkata Police has

arrested Govind Sarda, chairman of the Sarda Group of Industries,

and Anand Kumar Mallu, director of Mongyme India Limited, a

Secunderabad-based company under the Sarda Group which allegedly

supplied the kits. Binod Daga, another accomplice, has also been

arrested.

A large number of testing kits with fake expiry labels have been

withdrawn from the government hospitals and blood banks.

State Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra said: " After we got whif of

the incident, we immediately stopped such testing and withdrew the

kits from our blood banks and hospitals. We also did a thorough

inquiry and lodged a complaint with the police, so that the culprit

could be arrested. This is a serious issue and we have already

alerted other States, NACO and the Union Health Ministry. "

" We had sent a team to Secunderabad to arrest the director of the

company. The chairman was arrested from Kolkata along with another

accomplice. They were produced in court today. Our investigations

are on. The racket has serious implications for the State-run health

sector, " said Prasun Mukherjee, Commissioner, Kolkata Police.

The police had initially launched an inquiry against Avijit Sarkar,

zonal manager, and Tirthankar Mitra, areas sales manager of the

supplier company for defalcation of company funds. The firm had

alleged that the two officials had embezzled at least Rs 1 crore.

" We detained the two officials, but during interrogation we were

shocked by what they revealed. We got to know that the company

bought containers of expired testing kits and supplied these to

blood banks and hospitals, " said an officer of the detective

department.

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