The alleged vaccine fraudster, who organized at least three vaccination camps in Kolkata, can now be charged with an attempt to murder. Kolkata Police will appeal in court today to add section 307 to the list of charges.
Police say that instead of the Kovid vaccine, Debanjan Deb gave people shots of the antibiotic amikacin, without checking whether they were allergic to a particular antibiotic, which could have been fatal to them.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself is believed to have directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to link the case of an attempt to murder. He has also reportedly told her that no one involved in the fraud should be spared.
The BJP has accused the Trinamool of being involved in the scam.
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BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said, "Trinamool has now started a vaccine syndicate. Who knows where else such frauds are taking place. Similar frauds can happen in other parts of the state as well."
Mr. Ghosh's remarks came after his party demanded a CBI probe into the fraud. Party leader Sayantan Bose said, "This fraud could not have happened without the participation of Trinamool leaders."
He also threatened to take out a protest march with a huge crowd of one lakh till the police headquarters in Lalbazar.
A lawyer of the Calcutta High Court has filed a PIL for a CBI probe into the matter.
Meanwhile, actor and Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty, who first raised the alarm about the fraud vaccination camp, today canceled a virtual press conference as she was feeling unwell. His office quoted doctors as saying that preliminary investigations have revealed that the actor-MP may have a gallbladder problem. He said there was no reaction to the fake vaccine administered to Ms. Chakraborty on Tuesday.
There have been three more arrests in the vaccine fraud case - two people were arrested for forging signatures to open bank accounts and a third for taking an active part in vaccination camps.
All the three arrested will be produced in court today.
The police have also registered three additional cases of cheating of about one crore rupees against the fraudster.
A private firm gave him around 1.2 lakh to get 172 employees vaccinated, a pharma company gave him ₹ 4 lakh after promising him to get a tender for hand sanitizer and cheated a contractor of ₹ 90 lakh, a Paid for the construction of the stadium.
Debanjan Deb told the police that he started posing as an IAS officer mainly to please his parents. Debanjan Deb, the son of a retired senior excise officer, unsuccessfully attempted the IAS exam in 2017, but told his parents that he had cleared it, officials said.
As a social worker and documentary filmmaker, he liaised with the state's Department of Information and Cultural Affairs and the municipal corporation.
Once the pandemic started, he spent money to buy sanitizers, masks, and PPEs and distributed them to NGOs for free. He also started taking sub-contracts from contractors of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and became an influential peddler.
Mr. Murlidhar Sharma, Joint Commissioner (Crime), Kolkata Police said, “He was starting to get importance. Flowers were being showered on him at programs etc..” "We are definitely investigating all the claims he is making," Mr. Sharma said.
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Meanwhile, the police have identified 515 people who shot at the town and 72 in a college where the fraudsters had also set up a camp. A hunt is on to identify the others who shot in the town. Officials said the total number of victims could be as high as 2,000.
On the orders of the chief minister, the victims are to be identified and screened by the municipal corporation, and, once declared fit, they should be given vaccines.
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