Top Cancer Hospital Employees Sold Empty Chemotherapy Vials To Fill With Fake Drugs

Three months after uncovering a fake cancer drug operation, Delhi Police revealed in their chargesheet that eight patients who consumed the counterfeit medications were identified during the investigation. One of these patients passed away after taking the fake cancer drug, according to the chargesheet filed in Tis Hazari court, which also noted that the accused were employees at prominent hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon.

The accused allegedly acquired empty vials of essential medicines from pharmacists or hospital staff and then sold these vials, filled with counterfeit drugs, through pharmacists and online platforms, the chargesheet states. Over 140 vials of the fake medication, worth approximately Rs 4 crore on the open market, were seized by police.

Authorities tracked down eight patients, including one in Uzbekistan who purchased six injections for Rs 5.92 lakh; another from Jammu and Kashmir who bought two injections for Rs 1.80 lakh; a Haryana resident who bought six injections for Rs 5.67 lakh; a woman from Chandigarh who purchased 10 injections for her mother for Rs 13.50 lakh; a man from Punjab who bought 12 injections for his mother for Rs 16.20 lakh; another Chandigarh woman who acquired 10 injections for her grandmother for Rs 13.50 lakh; and a man from West Bengal who bought 24 injections for his father for Rs 24 lakh.

Detailing the case of the patient who died, the chargesheet revealed that a man from Madhubani, Bihar, informed police that his wife, who had mouth and lung cancer, was treated at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute (RGCI) and Buddha Cancer Hospital in Patna.

“Doctors advised his wife for a Keytruda injection and he came in contact with one Love Narula through an online marketplace, Indiamart. Narula offered him an injection for Rs 90,000. He purchased four injections for Rs 3.60 lakh between April and August 2022. But when his wife was administered two injections at Buddha Cancer Hospital, her condition deteriorated and she died on September 11, 2022,” the chargesheet read.

Seven suspects, including employees of Delhi and Gurgaon-based hospitals, were arrested on March 12 during raids conducted by the Inter-State Cell of the Crime Branch and the Delhi government’s Department of Drugs Control. Five more suspects were arrested later during the investigation. The accused include Viphil Jain (44) who is considered the ringleader, 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).

Investigators also found empty vials purchased from four accused who were employed in the oncology departments of major cancer hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon. Two of the accused worked as pharmacists at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute.

The other accused were employed at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Millennium Cancer Center in Gurgaon, and Venkateshwar Hospital in Delhi.

The suspects allegedly bought empty vials for Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 and refilled them with fake substances, which were later sold for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 through pharmacists and online platforms.

Police also issued notices to all four hospitals and received responses, which were included in the chargesheet. “During the investigation, we sent the manufacturing details of the recovered anti-cancer injections from the accused to the four hospitals and received their replies, which established that the batch number of recovered anti-cancer injections were manufactured by the company. This exercise corroborates the fact that the accused misappropriated the anti-cancer injections from their respective hospitals and sources and used them for their personal gain,” police stated in the chargesheet.

“The RGCI responded that Tiwari and Abhinay were posted in the Cytotoxic mixing unit and responsible for Cytotoxic drugs mixing on a daily basis. The Fortis Memorial Research Institute (in Gurgaon) said that Jitender was working as a clinical pharmacist in the Department of Hematology, Hemato-oncology, and Bone marrow transplant. He was responsible for mixing of oncology drugs to be administered to patients admitted under the Department of Hematology. The Venkateshwar Hospital informed that Bisht was overall in charge of Onco-Daycare and all patients undergoing chemo medication were under his supervision. The Millennium Cancer Center told police that Sajid was posted in the oncology department and was responsible for drug-mixing and chemo administration to the patients,” the chargesheet read.

Besides selling the vials to suppliers, the police noted that the accused also used the online business platform Indiamart to promote the sale of counterfeit anti-cancer injections. Seven suspects had registered themselves with Indiamart.