Arrested doctor was nasty to colleagues, ignored rap

Dr Pushpita, now in custody for stealing Covishield vials, assumed she was too influential to be brought to book

A freezer box used to transport the vaccines. Police suspect a mismatch between what was entered in the books and what was administered.

The doctor who stole vials from a government clinic had been running a racket for at least a month before she was busted, police say.

Dr M K Pushpita, arrested for stealing Covishield vials from a BBMP Primary Health Centre, was not popular among her colleagues.

“She got all her work done by her juniors. If they refused, she would abuse them. I had warned her several times,” a senior medical officer at the Manjunath Nagar Primary Health Centre told Metrolife.

The warnings made no difference. “She continued to be rude and nobody wanted to work with her,” he says.

Pushpita would smuggle out the vials and store them in her friend Prema’s house. She administered the shots there at Rs 500 each. Pushpita was on contract under the National Health Mission.

“While vaccination is given free at the health centres, stealing and selling it is against basic medical ethics,” says a senior medical officer.

How did she manage to sneak out the vaccines? “She was in charge of the unit and the stocks and vaccination lists were sent to her for vetting. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave in the period under question,” he says.

Pushpita browbeat her colleagues by projecting herself as influential. “Her father works as an assistant executive engineer in the BBMP. She always had a feeling that she could get away with everything,” says the doctor.

Police inspector B N Lohith of Annapurneshwari Nagar, investigating the case, says Pushpita and Prema are now in judicial custody.

“Pushpita was about to be married. We have charged her with cheating and criminal breach of trust and under sections of the Disaster Management Act,” says Lohith.

The police are investigating how she managed to sneak out the vials. “We have seized a frozen vial carrier, and vials and syringes from Prema’s house in ITI Layout. They had been vaccinating people since April 23. Prema was Pushpita’s accomplice. She provided the space and brought people in for vaccination,” says Lohith.

The police are trying to take stock. “We don’t know if she has meddled with the dosage or the bottles. We are questioning those who took the vaccine,” he adds.

The inspector suspects a mismatch between what was entered in the books and what was administered. “The entries were made a day late and it looks like there was manipulation of data,” he says.

How did the police get wind of it? An alert citizen tipped off the police.

“He posed as one who wanted to take the vaccination and watched the place for days before realising something was wrong,” he says.