Police have registered a case against a man for allegedly cheating a COVID-19 patient's relative in Maharashtra by taking money from him under the pretext of arranging a medicine required to treat the viral infection, an official said on Sunday.
The complainant told the police that his uncle was admitted to a civic-run COVID-19 hospital in Mumbra town of Thane district on August 29 last year.
Doctors at the hospital prescribed an antibody cocktail injection to treat the patient, following which the latter's nephew came in contact with the accused, identified as Nayansingh Chouhan.
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The accused posed as the marketing head of pharmaceutical company Cipla and allegedly offered to provide the injection at Rs 59,750, the official from Shil-Daighar police station said.
The complainant made the payment, but the accused failed to deliver the medicine, the official said, adding that the COVID-19 patient died on September 16 without receiving the prescribed injection.
Later, the deceased's nephew sought a refund from the accused, but he failed to return the money. The complainant also called up the pharma company and came to know that the accused was not employed there, the police said.
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The victim filed a police complaint on Friday following which the police registered an FIR against the accused under Indian Penal Code Section 420 (cheating), the official said. No arrest has been made so far, the police said, adding that they are conducting a probe into the case.
With PTI inputs.
