Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mimi Chakraborty recently got duped by a man impersonating an IAS officer and organising a fake COVID vaccination camp. Speaking to ANI, Mimi, remarked that she was invited to the camp by the fake IAS officer to encourage people from the transgender community and physically handicapped to come forward and take the vaccines. However, the Jadavpur MP went there without conducting any due diligence on her part.
“I was approached by a man who introduced himself as an IAS officer and said he was running a special drive for transgenders and specially-abled persons & requested for my presence,” said TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty whilst adding, “I took Covishield vaccine at the camp to motivate people for taking jabs. But I never received a confirmation message from CoWIN. I lodged a complaint with Kolkata Police and the accused was arrested. He was using a car with a blue beacon & fake sticker.”
I took Covishield vaccine at the camp to motivate people for taking jabs. But I never received a confirmation message from CoWIN. I lodged a complaint with Kolkata Police & the accused was arrested. He was using a car with a blue beacon & fake sticker: Mimi Chakraborty (2/2)
— ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2021
The camp was organised under the name of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in the Kasba area of Southern Kolkata. Even though the camp was organised by using KMC’s name, neither the Special Commission of KMC nor local councillor Susanta Ghosh was aware of any such vaccination drive.
About 200 to 250 people were administered with fake Covishield vaccine, along with Mimi Chakraborty. The mastermind behind the camp was Debanjan Deb and people at the camp may have been injected with Amikacin, an antibiotic.
According to an HT report, Kolkata Police’s detective department raided Debanjan Deb’s office in south Kolkata on Thursday and found a large number of Amikacin vials. Fake labels of Covishield had also been recovered.
“In some of the Amikacin vials we found fake labels of Covishield had been pasted. Interrogation revealed that Debanjan Deb used to purchase Amikacin from chemists impersonating as a top official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
This is not the first time that people have been duped in a vaccine drive. As reported by TFI, an ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) named Niha Khan deputed at Jamalpur urban primary health centre was caught throwing 29 vaccine-loaded syringes in the dustbin. Niha used to insert syringe needle inside the body of the vaccine recipients but took them out without releasing the vaccine.
Reportedly, the in-charge of the Centre, Dr Afreen, was aware of Niha’s action but she did not take any action, nor tried to inform her superiors about the incident. After interrogating the entire staff of the primary health centre including Niha and the doctor, the committee submitted its report and recommended the termination of Khan and her services.
Agra District Magistrate of Aligarh Chandra Bhushan Singh instantly issued a show-cause notice to Khan and acting on the recommendation of the probe committee that indicted Khan, terminated her contractual service.
That, a TMC MP fell for a fake camp and got herself jabbed was an embarrassment enough but the fact that the state government and the bureaucrats failed to notice the authenticity of the centre speaks volumes about the vaccination drive currently underway in West Bengal, with Mamata Banerjee at the wheel.