Beware of fake life saving drugs. Instead of Remdesivir, which is required for critically ill Covid-19 patients, similar looking vials of Monocef or Zetri, a low cost antibiotic injection, are being sold in the black market. Criminal gangs and swindlers active in Delhi-NCR and Western Uttar Pradesh are reportedly buying Monocef vials in bulk, each piece costing around Rs 52, and selling them to desperate customers for over Rs 5,500 to Rs 10,000 apiece.

Taking note of such rackets gradually reaching the smaller towns and rural areas, the Uttar Pradesh Police have alerted all the districts, particularly in western and central parts of the state, to keep a strict vigil on the stockists, distributors and wholesalers of medicines. "We have raided over 68,000 places to seize genuine or fake drugs being sold in the black markets in the past few days. In a bid to punish such accused persons harshly, cases are being registered under the National Security Act," Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Law and Order, UP, told IANS.