Days after residents of a housing society in Kandivali alleged fake COVID-19 vaccines during a private inoculation drive, it has now come to light that this scam has hit the Bollywood production houses as well.
Renowned Bollywood producer Ramesh Taurani, who heads Tips Industries Ltd, informed that 365 of his employees were vaccinated on May 30 and June 3, but are yet to receive a certificate.
He also confirmed that Sanjay Gupta from SP Events had carried out the inoculation drive for his staff and colleagues. Besides Gupta, one ex-employee of Kokilaben Ambani Hospital named Rajesh Pandey was also involved.
Speaking to India Today Television, Taurani said, "Yes, we are still waiting for the certificates and when my office people contacted him (Sanjay Gupta from SP Events), he said it will come by this Saturday (June 12), we got 356 people vaccinated and paid INR 1,200 per dose plus GST. But more than the money, now we are worried about what was given to us. Is it genuine Covishield or any saline water?"
"We were told we would get the vaccination certificate from Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital [in Mumbai]," Taurani added.
Also Read: BMC begins door to door vaccination in Mumbai
Meanwhile, another similar incident was reported by Matchbox Pictures, which organized vaccination camps for 150 employees. The production staff got their first shot of Covishield on 29 May (again via SP Events), the same group organized camps for Tips and Kandivali Housing Society.
Besides, a Mumbai College on June 19 claimed that it may have been duped via a vaccination drive on its campus conducted by an event management company earlier in June. The college authorities lodged a formal complaint with the police.
This revelation came only after Hiranandani Heritage residents approached the police and people were arrested. According to the latest update, five men - Chandan Singh, Karim Ali, Mahendra Kuldip Singh, Nitin Mode, and Sanjay Gupta - were arrested by Mumbai Police for being involved in a vaccination scam.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made it mandatory for such vaccination camps to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between private immunization providers, which has an MoU containing all relevant details.
According to the BMC, 41,11,880 people have been vaccinated in Mumbai, including 8,24,428 people who have received both doses as of June 17.
Also Read: Avoid sharing your vaccination certificate on social media platforms: MHA
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