Police in Adilabad have uncovered an alleged inter-state gang that stole ventilators and other medical equipment from government hospitals in Telangana and Maharashtra. The machines were allegedly sold through the second-hand medical equipment market.
The case came to light after the theft of four Mindray ventilators from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad on October 30. According to police, two men from Chandrapur, Maharashtra, entered the hospital posing as medical technicians. They allegedly accessed the RICU and SAARI wards on the second floor and removed the equipment.
After taking the ventilators to Maharashtra, the accused allegedly contacted a medical equipment sales and service dealer from Pragathi Nagar in Hyderabad. Police said the dealer agreed to buy the equipment even though he knew it was stolen. The accused were intercepted near the Adilabad RTO Office while transporting the machines towards Hyderabad.
Questioning of the accused reportedly revealed that they had targeted other government hospitals too. Police linked them to thefts at hospitals in Nagbhid and Wani in Maharashtra, and in Nizamabad in Telangana.
Besides the four ventilators from RIMS, police recovered the following items:
- Another ventilator and an NST machine from Nizamabad
- A fetal monitor from Wani
- A diathermy machine from Nagbhid
Adilabad police have arrested two persons, including the alleged buyer, while another accused is absconding. District SP Akhil Mahajan has appealed to medical equipment dealers to verify the source of devices before purchasing them and to report suspicious transactions.
