UP: Four health workers held with 2,000 test kits

“We are in the process of getting in touch with all the people who were tested at CHC, Mithwal. The inquiry team would ask whether their antigen tests were done at the CHC,” Kashyap said.

Of the arrested persons — Shiv Shankar Chaudhary, Vinod Kumar Tripathi and Mukhtar Ali — were working on a contractual basis at CHC, Uska Bazaar, while Omkar Tripathi was deployed at CHC, Mithwal. The administration has started the process of terminating their services.

Siddharth Nagar SP Ram Abhilash Tripathi said acting on a complaint that some people were involved in selling antigen kits, teams comprising officials from health department and administration was formed to nab the culprits.

On Tuesday, police received information that some people were ferrying antigen kits for the purpose of selling them. The sleuths gave chase to the car in which the accused were travelling and arrested them from Siddharth Nagar- Gorakhpur highway.

While searching the vehicle, police recovered 2,000 antigen kits hidden inside the trunk, the SP said, adding that cost of recovered items is around Rs 23 lakhs.

“During questioning, the accused said that they were taking the kits to Patna and were supposed to sell them off to a person. All arrested persons were produced before a local court at Siddharth Nagar which sent them to jail,” Manoj Singh, station house officer, Uska police station, said.