An FIR was lodged against a trader in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly for allegedly black-marketing oxygen cylinders after an audio clip of him demanding Rs 40,000 for one cylinder went viral.
Identified as one Paras Gupta, the trader was booked under the Epidemic Act and other relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code after an FIR was lodged against him at Prem Nagar police station on Sunday, police said.
In the audio clip that has been shared widely across various social media platforms, Gupta can be heard demanding Rs 40,000 from a Covid-19 patient who was under home isolation, Drug Inspector Urmila Verma said.
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This comes in the backdrop of Covid-19 infections spiralling out of control in the state causing a huge burden on the healthcare infrastructure.
Uttar Pradesh’s caseload rose to 15,03,490 on Sunday as the state logged 23,333 new infections and 296 fatalities. With the latest addition, UP’s Covid death toll stands at 15,464.
Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 1,436, followed by 1,425 in Meerut and 1,042 in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Bareilly MP and Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar complained to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the "big shortage" of empty oxygen cylinders and the high prices of medical equipment in the city.
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(With PTI inputs)
