INVESTIGATORS probing the blood plasma adulteration racket uncovered in Ahmedabad district have found that all 1,140 plasma units seized from the alleged mastermind’s residence were adulterated, of inferior quality and unfit for human use, prompting authorities to begin the process of destroying the seized stock while expanding the investigation to multiple blood banks in Maharashtra.

 

The Ahmedabad Rural Police said on Monday that a forensic report from the Department of Pathology at B J Medical College concluded that the plasma units recovered from the residence of the main accused, Dinesh Chaudhary, failed to meet the Food and Drugs Administration’s prescribed standards. “The plasma was of very poor quality, posed a risk to human life and was not suitable for transfusion,” the report concluded. The findings have led investigators to conclude that even the plasma which the accused allegedly sold as genuine had been adulterated after it was stolen. Police said the accused removed a portion of high-quality plasma from genuine plasma units and mixed saline water into the remaining contents to restore the original volume, thereby reducing the plasma’s quality. Whenever fresh consignments of genuine plasma arrived, the accused allegedly replaced them with plasma units that had already been adulterated, ensuring the number of units supplied matched the pharmaceutical company’s order.

 

Investigators further allege that the genuine plasma removed from consignments was also adulterated before being sold to two blood banks in Maharashtra, allowing the accused to increase the quantity and maximise profits. Superintendent of Police (SP) Om Prakash Jat said four people had so far been arrested in the case, and further interrogation had revealed that the accused adulterated not only the replacement plasma but also the genuine plasma they had stolen. “After replacing the genuine plasma with fake plasma and stealing the original plasma, they also adulterated the original plasma. After adulterating it, the plasma was sent to two blood banks in Maharashtra. These are Washim Blood Bank and Jalna Blood Bank.

 

We have apprehended the owners of both these blood banks,” Jat said. Police said investigations were continuing into the role of several blood banks in Maharashtra. According to the Special Operations Group (SOG), the accused supplied plasma to blood banks in Washim and Jalna, while verification and questioning are also under way at Ahmednagar Blood Bank in Ahmednagar, Jeevanjyot Blood Bank in Dhule, Sanjivani Blood Bank in Nashik, Dhanvantari Blood Bank in Bhusawal and Lions Blood Bank in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.