Delhi fake cancer drugs case: How top hospitals became involved in the scam

Delhi Police chargesheet reveals eight victims, one fatality in fake cancer drug scam. It seized over 140 vials of the fake chemotherapy drug, which had a market value of around Rs 4 crore

Three months after the uncovering of a fake cancer drug operation, the Delhi Police has claimed in its chargesheet that eight patients who consumed the fake medications were identified during the investigation, according to a report by Indian Express. 

One of these patients passed away, according to the chargesheet filed in Tis Hazari court, the national-daily said. It also noted that the accused were employed at prominent hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon.

What was the fake cancer drug case?

The chargesheet alleges that the suspects obtained empty vials of essential medications from pharmacists or hospital staff, then filled these vials with counterfeit substances and sold them through pharmacies and online platforms. The police seized over 140 vials of the fake drug, which had a market value of approximately Rs 4 crore, the report said.

 

Who were the victims of the cancer drug scam?

Among the traced patients were a patient from Uzbekistan who purchased six injections for Rs 5.92 lakh, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir who bought two injections for Rs 1.80 lakh, and a resident of Haryana who acquired six injections for Rs 5.67 lakh. 

Additionally, a woman from Chandigarh purchased ten injections for her mother at Rs 13.50 lakh, a resident of Punjab bought twelve injections for his mother for Rs 16.20 lakh, another woman from Chandigarh bought ten injections for her grandmother for Rs 13.50 lakh, and a man from West Bengal purchased twenty-four injections for his father for Rs 24 lakh.

The chargesheet also described a case from Bihar’s Madhubani, where a man’s wife, suffering from mouth and lung cancer, was being treated at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Buddha Cancer Hospital in Patna. After being advised to use Keytruda injections, the man purchased four injections for Rs 3.60 lakh from an online contact named Love Narula. Following the administration of two injections, the patient’s condition worsened, leading to her death on September 11, 2022, the report noted.

Who were the accused?

Earlier this year, on March 12, seven suspects were arrested by the Inter-State Cell of the Crime Branch and the Delhi government’s Department of Drugs Control. An additional five suspects were apprehended later. The accused included Viphil Jain (44), identified as the mastermind. Additionally, Suraj Shat (27), Neeraj Chauhan (38), Tushar Chauhan (28), Parvez (33), Komal Tiwari (39), Abhinay Singh (30), Aditya Krishna (23), Rohit Singh Bisht (36), Jitender (33), Majid Khan (34), and Sajid (34), have been apprehended.

How was the fake cancer drug case uncovered?

Investigators found that four of the accused worked in the oncology departments of top cancer hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon. Specifically, two of the twelve accused were pharmacists at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute. Other suspects were employed at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Millennium Cancer Center in Gurgaon, and Venkateshwar Hospital in Delhi.

The operation involved buying empty vials for Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, refilling them with fake substances, and selling them for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 through pharmacies and online platforms. 

Police also issued notices to the involved hospitals, whose responses confirmed the batch numbers of the fake drugs matched those manufactured by the company. This supported allegations that the accused misappropriated the drugs from their workplaces for personal profit, Indian Express mentioned.

The chargesheet noted that besides selling to suppliers, the accused also used the online business platform Indiamart to market the counterfeit injections, with seven of them registering on the site to facilitate sales.