Fake Remdesivir, Rs 10-Lakh Hospital Bed: How Covid Patients Were Fleeced

Investigators say many scammers have turned their attention to ripping off desperate Covid-19 patients and relatives as India suffers a devastating coronavirus surge.

From fake medicines to fire extinguishers disguised as oxygen cylinders and recycled personal protective equipment, India's coronavirus hell has been lucrative for its ever-inventive army of scammers, with sometimes deadly consequences. Komal Taneja's husband Chandrakant died gasping for breath at his New Delhi home last month after the oxygen canister that they paid $200 for on the internet never arrived. "We desperately tried to find a hospital bed for a week... Two private hospitals asked us for a million rupees (Rs 10 lakhs) in advance," Komal, her voice cracking on the phone, told AFP.  "Then we came across a contact online promising an oxygen cylinder delivery within an hour of making the 15,000 rupees payment. When we did, they asked for more money, and then stopped responding," Komal added.