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Police are trying to find how the man got access to Covishield vaccines which were used at the centre and are also trying to find if the vaccines were authentic or fake.
A man pretending to be an IAS officer allegedly organised a ‘fake’ Covid-19 vaccination drive in Kolkata’s New Market area, was arrested on Wednesday after Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Mimi Chakraborty alerted the police after taking the jab at the camp. Chakraborty said she received a message that the vaccination drive was launched by the joint commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Commission for transgender and differently-abled people. In an attempt to inspire people to get vaccinated, she went to the camp and even got vaccinated herself. However, when she received no SMS or vaccine certificate, she felt something off about the drive.
“It struck me when I did not receive the message that beneficiaries receive after their vaccination. I also asked for my vaccination certificate which they said I would receive within some time. I immediately asked my office to enquire if people present at the site received registration messages, to which the people present said that they have not received any such message,” Chakraborty told Hindustan Times.
Following this, the actor-politician stopped the vaccination drive and helped the police arrest the man identified Debanjan Deb. Police were able to recover a fake ID card as well as hand sanitizers and masks which had the logo of Kolkata’s civic authority.
As the investigation continues, police are trying to find how the man got access to Covishield vaccines which were used at the centre and are also trying to find if the vaccines were authentic or fake. ANI quoted the Kolkata Police saying, “We haven’t come across any vial having an expiry date. Seized vials will be sent for testing to find out if they are genuine or not. The accused will be interrogated in this regard.”
The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 30 crore mark and as per the provisional report, the total figure was 30,09,69,538.
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