Fake vaccination camp held in Mumbai housing society

A housing society in Mumbai’s Kandivali area has complained to police that it was apparently cheated by some persons who organized a Covid-19 vaccination camp for its members by claiming to represent a private hospital, and the vaccine that was administered could be spurious.

The society, Hiranandani Heritage Residents Welfare Association (HHRWA), has sought an investigation into the matter.A vaccination camp was arranged by the residential complex on May 30. But later, it found that the Co-WIN portal did not have any record of the people who participated and they received certificates in the name of different hospitals, it said. “If the vaccine is found to be spurious, the people who got vaccinated will have a medical emergency to deal with. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate the whole episode so that such fraudulent activities are not repeated at other places,” the complaint said.

The HHRWA had organised the camp through a person named Pandey, who claimed to be a sales representative of a reputed private hospital in Andheri. As many as 390 members received the jabs at the camp at Rs 1,260 per person, it said in the complaint. Neha Alshi, a resident who tweeted about the incident, added that the certificates mentioned Lifeline hospital and Nanavati hospital. There was no mention of Kokilaben Ambani hospital anywhere, which further raised their suspicion. Alshi added that when they contacted Nanavati hospital, they too denied any involvement.

Residents allege that this was organised through an individual named Rajesh Pandey by the society committee. It is yet unclear through whom Rajesh Pandey contacted the committee. KDAH said in a statement that Rajesh Pandey was an employee of the hospital, who illegally and without authorisation was involved in the fraudulent activity. “Rajesh Pandey deceitfully misused the name of the hospital in concert with external individuals and institutions which are not connected in any way with KDAH. The vaccination drives where Rajesh Pandey was involved in his personal capacity were done without the knowledge of KDAH and without the hospital’s trained medical personnel and resources,” Dr. Santosh Shetty, Executive Director and CEO of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute told The Daily Guardian.