The Maharashtra Police arrested three women for allegedly administering fake coronavirus vaccines to villagers in Jalna district on Wednesday. March 11.

Beed residents Radha Ramnath Saamse, Seema Krishna Andhale and Sangeeta Rajendra Avhad, were arrested for allegedly posing as doctors and healthcare workers and administering a fake coronavirus vaccine.

The police said that the three women met villagers of Pipalgoan in Ambad tehsil, and told them that there is a vaccine that can protect them from coronavirus. They administered it to locals who fell for their lies.

A complaint was lodged against the women after villagers informed Dr Mahadev Munde, a medical officer at a rural health centre. Fake vaccines and bottles were seized from the accused women and sent to the state health department, India Today reported. A case of cheating has been registered against the three.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday, March 11, declared the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has spread to at least 114 countries around the world, a pandemic. Amidst global coronavirus scare, the Biocon Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has said that India should step up research on communicable diseases and get into vaccine production.

Hinting at the rise in coronavirus cases in India, the biotechnology industry veteran also urged the government to rope in the private sector to boost diagnostic capacity.

As of now, 79 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been identified in India including one death and the three patients cured. The Union Ministry of Health confirmed that the death of a 76-year-old man from Karnataka’s Kalburgi occurred due to COVID-19, making him the first Indian to die from the viral infection.

Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: India Step Up Its Vaccine Production In A Big Way, Says Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw