Mumbai police are likely to call the director a pharma company for one more round of questioning for allegedly stocking thousands of Remdesivir medicine vials, an official said on Sunday.
Rajesh Dokania, director of Bruck Pharma, a Daman-based pharmaceutical company that manufactures Remdesivir vials, was questioned on Saturday night, the police official said. Police have said that they had information that the Remdesivir stock was going to be flown abroad by air cargo, despite a ban on the export of the drug.
"Dokania was questioned at the BKC police station," the official said, adding that the cops later allowed him to go, but asked him to remain present for inquiry whenever he is called.
"While the director of the pharma company was brought for questioning at the police station, a team of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) was also present there," Mumbai police spokesperson S. Chaitanya said in a statement on Sunday.
The commissioner and the joint commissioner of the FDA were also aware of the questioning, the statement said.
Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had visited the police station on Saturday night along with other BJP leaders. Fadnavis had inquired why the director of the pharmaceutical company was called to the police station, he said in the statement.
Fadnavis had also said that permission was taken from the FDA commissioner to donate the stock of Remdesivir vials to the Maharashtra government, as Remdesivir stocked for export cannot be diverted to the domestic market without the nod of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) or the FDA.
While Fadnavis claimed the director was picked up because the BJP managed to get the permissions in place for the supply of the drug to Maharashtra, activist Saket Gokhale wondered how did a "private individual like Fadnavis" procure Remdesivir stock from Gujarat when the sale is allowed only to the government.
They said the BJP was reaching out to pharma companies due to the shortage of Remdesivir in the state. "It was our sincere attempt to get Remdesivar for Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.
"Four days ago we had requested Bruck Pharma to supply us Remdesivir but they couldn't until permission was given. I spoke to Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and also got FDA's permission," Fadnavis said.
The former CM claimed that a Maharashtra minister's officer on special duty called the pharma executive and objected to the company providing Remdesivir on BJP's appeal.
The appearance of top Maharashtra BJP leaders late at night at the police station after the director was grilled has intensified the political slugfest between the Shiv Sena-led regime and the BJP over the paucity of healthcare supplies.
"Why didn't Fadnavis inform the state govt of the supplier & help procure the stock through state channels? In the midst of a severe shortage, why was the BJP hoarding 4.75 crores worth of Remdesivir in their party office (just like in Gujarat)?" Gokhale tweeted.
"And most importantly - while @nawabmalikncp ji showed yesterday that Central govt had stopped supplies of Remdesivir to Maharashtra govt, then how was BJP's Fadnavis allowed to procure it sneakily without informing the state govt? That too stock worth 4.75 crores?" he added.
The political slugfest started on Saturday morning when Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged the Centre was pressuring some Remdesivir producers to not sell their stock in Maharashtra.
Joining state BJP leaders, two Central ministers hit back at the Maharashtra government, calling these allegations "a lie" and termed them an attempt to politicise the pandemic.
The communication from the FDA to the pharmaceutical company was not shared with the BKC police station, which was acting independently on the information available with them, said the Mumbai police spokesperson.
"Mumbai police acted in good faith," the statement said, adding that the pharma company director was called for inquiry in order to trace and seize a large quantity of 60,000 vials of Remdesivir based on specific verified inputs.
This inquiry was necessary in light of complaints of rampant hoarding and black marketing of Remdesivir and shortage being faced by citizens, it added.
These facts were explained to the leaders of opposition. They were informed that necessary legal action will be taken against those illegally hoarding Remdesivir. Senior officers of Mumbai Police were also present, the statement added.
Meanwhile, another senior police official said the stock of 60,000 vials has not been seized yet.
