Hyderabad: The Adilabad RIMS ventilator theft case ended with the arrest of two men accused of stealing four machines from the government hospital. Police recovered all four ventilators, a car and Rs 1 lakh in cash, Superintendent of Police Akhil Mahajan said.
The accused, Sajjan and Abhijit, belonged to Chandrapur in Maharashtra. According to the SP, they entered RIMS posing as technicians before removing the medical equipment.
The theft took place on October 30. The accused allegedly stole one ventilator each from the RICU and chest wards on the second floor. They also took two machines from the TB ward.
Hospital authorities noticed that four ventilators had gone missing. CCTV cameras captured two men carrying the equipment in bags as they left the premises. Following the footage, the RIMS director lodged a complaint with Two Town Police. Officers registered a case and began an investigation.
Adilabad RIMS ventilator theft investigation traced the stolen machines to Hyderabad
During the investigation, police found that Sajjan and Abhijit had sold the stolen ventilators to Kondareddy, a medical equipment dealer from Hyderabad.
The dealer had purchased the machines in Chandrapur and was transporting them to Hyderabad when Adilabad police intercepted him, the SP said.
Police seized the four ventilators, a car and Rs 1 lakh in cash. SP Akhil Mahajan disclosed the details of the case at a press conference.