KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday cautioned against fake Covid-19 tests and hinted at stern action against any organization carrying out such a procedure without authorization.
“There are three or four organizations against whom we have received complaints. They are collecting swab samples without any authorization. Don’t entertain them. Please check government authorization on their papers and make sure the stamp is not fake,” Banerjee said.
The death of a 55-year-old bank employee from Naktala last week had blown the lid on a racket involving two contractual laboratory assistants at two big government hospitals in Kolkata and some youths, who posed as sample collection agents, duping suspected Covid patients with fake reports. Three persons were arrested.
Chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said, “We had two or three cases and they were identified and proper actions were taken against them.” Government sources said a multi-agency investigation was being carried out to nab the culprits. Some unaffiliated labs are carrying out tests without any authorization and similar cases were reported in Delhi. It should not happen here, said Sinha. “They are posing as pathologists, claiming to be agents of a particular lab. We are on a strict vigil,” he added.
“There are three or four organizations against whom we have received complaints. They are collecting swab samples without any authorization. Don’t entertain them. Please check government authorization on their papers and make sure the stamp is not fake,” Banerjee said.
The death of a 55-year-old bank employee from Naktala last week had blown the lid on a racket involving two contractual laboratory assistants at two big government hospitals in Kolkata and some youths, who posed as sample collection agents, duping suspected Covid patients with fake reports. Three persons were arrested.
Chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said, “We had two or three cases and they were identified and proper actions were taken against them.” Government sources said a multi-agency investigation was being carried out to nab the culprits. Some unaffiliated labs are carrying out tests without any authorization and similar cases were reported in Delhi. It should not happen here, said Sinha. “They are posing as pathologists, claiming to be agents of a particular lab. We are on a strict vigil,” he added.
