KOLKATA: Kolkata Police, along with the state police, has received tip-offs from the state health department on fake Covid reports that are being provided for Rs 5,000 per test.
At present, the charge for RT-PCR tests at most facilities is Rs 850 with an additional service charge for home collection of swab samples.
Investigating the case, cops have listed 30 suspects and asked patients to check ID cards properly before allowing collection agents into their homes.
The state police has already arrested several persons on charges of either preparing fake Covid reports or charging much more than what is allowed.
Police said several cheats have been found to be doubling up as collection agents, who claim to belong to reputable pathological labs.
Even local police stations have been advised to make people aware of the fake Covid-19 test racket.
The state health department has stepped in after requesting the police to stop the menace.
It has urged people to conduct tests from verified labs and government facilities.
“We have received complaints from patients who have been charged up to Rs 5,000 for a Covid-19 test,” said a senior doctor associated with Beliaghata ID Hospital.
The cops cited an instance in Entally where 21 residents of a building got themeselves tested after a fellow resident died of Covid.
A lab employee had collected their samples.
The result declared all of them Covid negative although two residents displayed clear signs of Covid.
When some of the residents scanned the QR code on the report to download the result, the reports turned out to be those of others from tests that had been conducted nearly a year ago.
In another incident, a School of Tropical Medicine part timer staffer was nabbed for running a fake racket from Hooghly but targeting patients in Kolkata.