Barred Rapid Test Kits Being Sold Illegally

Exploiting Corona scare, many medical suppliers in Capital peddle dubious testing kits that finally reach people’s homes

- Hizbullah and Milan Sharma

Their supplies restricted to government facilities and their use paused for now, rapid test kits have nevertheless made their way into the commercial market as the demand for fast-tracking Covid diagnosis soars, an India Today TV investigation has found.

Health authorities have suspended rapid-testing for the new Coronavirus till further notice after several states complained about flawed results, mostly from the Chinese-made kits.

But India Today TV’s Special Investigation Team found several suppliers of medical equipment procuring the tools via illegal channels and selling them out among the communities for home-testing.

LEAVING NO FOOTPRINTS

The reporters, posing as brokers, discovered that these distributors would leave no trail of transactions that could help government authorities trace Covid suspects and their contacts. At Marlins Medico in central Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar, cartons of rapid-test kits were found stocked, ready to be shipped out in the city neighbourhoods. When probed by India Today TV’s undercover reporters, its chief Amit Bahuguna promised wholesale deliveries without any paperwork.