Ahmedabad, June 29 (IANS). Officials investigating the blood plasma adulteration racket that came to light in Ahmedabad district found that all the 1,140 plasma units seized from the house of the main accused were adulterated, of poor quality and unfit for human consumption.
After this, the authorities have started the process of destroying the seized stock and have extended the scope of investigation to several blood banks in Maharashtra.
Ahmedabad Rural Police said on Monday that the forensic report of the Pathology Department of BJ Medical College has revealed that the plasma units recovered from the house of the main accused Dinesh Chaudhary did not meet the standards set by the Food and Drugs Administration.
“The plasma was of very poor quality, could pose a risk to human life and was not suitable for transfusion,” the report said.
Based on these results, investigators believe that the plasma which the accused had sold as genuine plasma was also adulterated after the theft.
Police said that the accused took out some good quality plasma from the original plasma units and mixed saline water in the remaining part to maintain its quantity, which reduced the quality of the plasma.
Whenever a new consignment of genuine plasma arrived, the accused would replace them with already adulterated plasma units, so that the number of units supplied remained equal to the order of the pharmaceutical company.
The investigators also allege that the genuine plasma extracted from the consignment was also adulterated before selling it to two blood banks in Maharashtra, due to which the accused could increase the quantity and earn maximum profits.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Om Prakash Jat said that so far four people have been arrested in this case and further investigation has revealed that the accused had adulterated not only the exchanged plasma but also the original plasma that was stolen.
“After replacing the genuine plasma with fake plasma and stealing the original plasma, they also adulterated the genuine plasma. After adulteration, the plasma was sent to two blood banks in Maharashtra. These are Washim Blood Bank and Jalna Blood Bank. We have caught the owners of these two blood banks,” Jat said.
He said, “If further investigation reveals that this plasma was directly transfused to a patient or was supplied to another blood bank, then that aspect will also be investigated. If the investigation proves that due to this a patient died or someone fell ill, then more appropriate sections will be added to the case and names of more accused will be included.”
Referring to the lab investigation report, Jat said that the report of BJ Medical College has revealed that the plasma which the accused had sold as genuine was also contaminated.
He said, “It was contaminated/adulterated and the plasma could not be directly transfused into a human being. Neither did it have any therapeutic potential nor did it meet the required standards of cleanliness.”
Police said that the investigation into the role of several blood banks in Maharashtra is going on.
According to the Special Operations Group (SOG), the accused had supplied plasma to the blood banks of Washim and Jalna. Besides, investigation and inquiry is also going on in Ahmednagar Blood Bank of Ahmednagar, Jeevanjyoti Blood Bank of Dhule, Sanjeevani Blood Bank of Nashik, Dhanwantari Blood Bank of Bhusaval and Lions Blood Bank of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The investigating officers are probing the suspicious role of the operators of these centres. Jat said the police are working closely with the Health Department, Food and Drugs Department, laboratories and Gujarat State Council for Blood Transfusion.
The investigators have obtained the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for blood banks and are checking whether the prescribed rules were followed or not.
He said, “If we find that the laid down procedures were not followed at any stage, we will submit a detailed report to all the concerned departments so that they can take the right decision. If any changes in the SOP are required in future, our ongoing investigation will help in that process as well.”
The investigation is also examining the regulatory framework related to blood banks, including qualification requirements, licensing processes and legal provisions related to the purchase and sale of blood plasma between blood banks and pharmaceutical companies.
Police said the findings of the investigation will help in identifying the regulatory loopholes that were exploited by the accused, and will also help in formulating suggestions to prevent such crimes.
Jat said that the Gujarat Health Department has been active ever since the matter came to light and is checking blood banks across the state to detect any irregularities.
Police say that in the investigation so far, no evidence has been found to show that adulterated plasma was supplied to any hospital or blood bank in Gujarat.
This case was revealed by the SOG of Ahmedabad Rural Police on the basis of intelligence information. The investigators unearthed a racket that was adulterating blood plasma meant for a pharmaceutical company in Changodar.
Police allege that Dinesh Chaudhary, who was a blood plasma collection executive in pharmaceutical companies, used his technical knowledge to carry out this work in collaboration with transport employees Jitendra Solanki and Rafiq Khalifa. It is alleged that these employees used to send the plasma consignment to another place even before delivery.
Investigators say that genuine plasma collected from blood banks in Maharashtra was taken out of the consignment and replaced with adulterated plasma before it reached the pharmaceutical company.
As the scope of investigation increased, the fourth accused Mohan Dajiba Gaikwad, resident of Maharashtra, was also arrested.
A case has been registered at Changodar police station under sections 316(3), 338(2), 125, 276, 328(4) and 61(2) of the Indian Judicial Code.
During this operation, the police seized 1,140 blood plasma units, a deep freezer, chemical bottles, a sealing machine, empty plasma bags and a pick-up vehicle used in the crime.
–IANS
ASH/DKP
