Mumbai man cheated while trying to buy Remdesivir vials online

A Mumbai-based man was allegedly duped of over Rs 40,000 by a person who allegedly promised to get him Remdesivir injections at a cheaper rate online, a police official said.

Remdesivir drug is currently in high demand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The incident took place on April 27 when the victim was in need of six Remdesivir vials.

While looking for the medicine online, he found the contact number of a leading medical company's social arm, the official said on Tuesday.

When the man dialed the number, the person on the other side asked him to deposit Rs 20,400 into a bank account specified by the latter for buying six Remdesivir injections.

However, the transaction failed and he was asked to deposit the money again. Later, the victim realized that the money was withdrawn twice from his account, the official said.

He contacted the person from the medical firm again and when the latter did not give any satisfactory reply, the victim realized that he had been duped.

He then approached the Khar police and lodged a complaint, the official said.

While conducting a probe into the case, the Khar police contacted the bank concerned and found the accused's account was in a Patna-based branch.

The police asked the bank authorities to freeze the account of the accused, and the money deposited by the victim was returned to him, the official said.

A case was registered under Indian Penal Code Section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions and a search was on for the accused, the police added.