More than 860 injections of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, considered by many to be crucial in saving lives of seriously ill Covid-19 patients, were stolen from the store of the Government Hamidia Hospital at Bhopal.

According to hospital authorities, the injection vials had been provided by the district administration on Friday and they had to be administered to the patients today. The theft came to light today morning, when a team of doctors reached the hospital’s store to get the injections but they were shocked to see that the injections were missing. The doctors alerted the hospital authorities and a frantic search was undertaken at the hospital level to trace the missing vials.

When the injections could not be found anywhere inside the hospital premises, the hospital authorities informed the police and higher ups.

State medical education minister Vishwas Sarang told some reporters that he was aware of the theft and Bhopal DIG Irshad Wali and Bhopal Commissioner Kavindra Kiyawat had reached the spot. The minister said that the theft in the state’s biggest government hospital under the Medical Education Department was a very grave matter and police were investigating it thoroughly.

Police said that a case had been registered and investigations were underway.

“In all, 863 vials of Remdesivir injections have been stolen from the Hamidia Hospital. We have registered an FIR in the matter under IPC Sections 457 and 380. Investigations are on but as of now we have not got any leads in the case,” Anil Vajpayi, Town Inspector (TI) of Kohe- Fiza police station, under whose jurisdiction the hospital comes, told The Statesman today evening.

Incidentally, more than 200 outsourced employees of the Hamidia Hospital, including security guards, ward boys and cleaning staff, had gone on strike from Friday night being enraged at the state government for not fulfilling its promises made to them long time ago. The employees staged a demonstration too in the hospital premises today morning.

They alleged that the state government has made false promises to them including giving them contractual appointments in place of outsourced services, increase in salaries and other amenities and payment of Rs 10,000 each as encouragement allowance for providing their services in Covid times. Since the past few days, the state had been reeling under a severe shortage and consequent black marketing of Remdesivir injections.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that necessary steps were being taken to procure the life saving drug.