Five persons, including an MBBS Doctor of ESIC, were arrested by Delhi Police’s crime branch on Saturday for their alleged involvement in the pilferage of medicines from ESIC dispensaries in Delhi.

The crime branch arrested officials of ESIC allegedly involved in the pilferage of medicines scheduled to be supplied to ESIC dispensaries in Delhi. Two men were apprehended red-handed with a large cache of medicines bearing ESI stamps, police said.

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One of the apprehended accused is a serving pharmacist with ESIC, Okhla. The mastermind Dr. Avinash Saini, was arrested from ESIC Kalkaji, said Rajesh Deo, DCP, Crime Branch, Delhi. The five accused have been identified as Chandra Prakash, 33 resident of Faridabad in Haryana, Praveen Mangla, 40, resident of Badarpur in Delhi, Sumesh Rathi, 52, of Kalkaji Extn in Delhi, Ankit Mishra, 23, of Faridabad in Haryana and Avinash Saini, 41, of Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The police received information that officials of ESIC are involved in the pilferage of medicines that are designated to be supplied to ESIC dispensaries in Delhi.

Acting on this input, the police swung into action, and Prakash and Praveen were apprehended red-handed near Badarpur while they were delivering the illegally procured medicines from the ESI dispensary. A large cache of highly valued medicines bearing ESI stamps was recovered from the accused, said Deo

During the investigation, the medicine stock report was obtained from ESI dispensary Okhla and Tigri. The recovered medicines were issued on the cardholder of ESIC, cardholders were traced and questioned and it was revealed that some of the members had not visited the dispensaries, and some of them visited but they were suffering from different diseases than the medicines prescribed.

It was also found that Parkash was in connection with Dr. Avinash on Whatsapp and he suggested the name of costly medicine (Life-saving drugs) to Doctor for prescription on the patient card whose demand was in the market. The same medicines were intended by the Doctor on the ESIC beneficiary cards, police said.