Fake vaccination drive: TMC MP Sen clarifies after photos with accused surface

Trinamool Congress MP Dr Santanu Sen said strict action will be taken against Debanjan Deb, the man recently arrested for holding a fake vaccination drive in Kolkata where another Trinamool Congress MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty also got vaccinated. Sen’s comments come after people pointed out that Sen was seen in a few photos with Debanjan Deb.

Sen who is also the Indian Medical Association’s West Bengal secretary said that the incident was part of an organised crime and Kolkata Police is investigating the matter. He also said that the Kolkata civic body is reaching out to people who had received the jabs at the fake vaccination drive.

“When we realised that Debanjan Deb is a fraud and his ill-intentions without wasting time we lodged an FIR with the Muchipara police station and asked them to take stringent measures. This is an organised crime and the police are taking their own course. I believe that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has taken a significant step to reach out to beneficiaries to gather information regarding any side-effects,” Sen was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Sen also wrote a letter to the Muchipara police regarding the photos where he was seen with Debanjan Deb. He said that Debanjan was being accompanied by others and it was hard to question his genuinity.

Debanjan Deb was arrested after TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty busted his fake vaccination drive in the New Market area in Kolkata on Wednesday. Mimi while speaking to Hindustan Times Bangla said that her suspicions arose after she did not receive a vaccination certificate from the people arranging the vaccination drive. She said that the man posed as an IAS officer and was with the Kolkata civic body. He was also using a fake ID card and masks and sanitizers labelled with Kolkata civic body logos. Deb was arrested after Mimi informed the police.

The police later said that beneficiaries may have been injected with Amikacin, an antibiotic, according to another report by HT. The report said that after raiding Debanjan Deb’s office in south Kolkata the cops found a large number of Amikacin vials alongside fake labels of Covishield.