ESI doctor Obul Reddy found illegally marketing 'Black fungus' drugs; absconds

Hyderabad: At a time when hospitals are running short of medicines to treat black fungus infections and families of COVID patients are running from pillar to post and seeking help on social media to procure the drug, Obul Reddy, a general physician at the government ESI hospital at Erragadda was running a black marketing racket selling the drug for up to Rs 45,000 per vial. The Cyberabad Special Operations Team busted this racket, arrested three associates of Obul Reddy and seized 78 vials of the drug. Obul Reddy is said to be absconding.

The police said that the seized drugs, along with a Hyundai Verna Car, a Honda Activa scooter, worth Rs 18 lakhs has been seized. The arrested have been identified as Sadagari Vikas Reddy, owner of a Nandini medical Shop at Chinthal, Chirra Nagaraju, a private employee, and Papishetti Sreedhar, owner of Manasa medical shop at Chinthal Cross Roads of Petbasheerabad.

The police said the drug, Amphotericin-B Liposome 50MG, has been manufactured by Celon Laboratories Ltd, at Pragathinagar, KPHB. The accused formed a group and started marketing the emergency drug in black to earn money illegally.

The prime accused Obul Reddy alias Balarami Reddy would collect the black fungus drug allotted for the ESI hospital for COVID patients without authorisation. Then, he would sell it to Vikas Reddy who would sell the same to Chirra Nagaraju for a profit. Nagaraju would sell the drugs to Papishetti Sreedhar. Sreedhar would sell the drug to customers for a profit of Rs 10,000. The medicine would reach a price anywhere between Rs 38,000 to Rs 45,000 by the time it reaches Sreedhar.

The police also found that Sreedhar was also creating fake labels at Shanti Xerox centre at Old Bowenpally in the name of Celon labs and would sell the antibiotic drug Ceftriaxone and Tazobactam for injection Olcefone-Xl 1125 as the medicine for black fungus at a high price.