Pune, Apr 20 (PTI) Two persons were arrested for allegedly issuing fake COVID-19 negative reports in Pimpri- Chinchwad suburb of Maharashtra's Pune city, police said on Tuesday.

The police on Monday arrested Rakeshkumar Vaishnav and Kesaramji Dewasi, while two more accused are absconding, an official said.

According to the police, the duo was allegedly issuing fake COVID-19 negative reports to people who wished to travel and charged them Rs 500 to Rs 600.

"We received information that some men are issuing fake COVID-19 RT-PCR reports to people who want it for travel and were charging Rs 500 to Rs 600 to issue false negative certificates," the official from Hinjawadi police station said.

A decoy customer was sent to one of the suspects and after paying Rs 500, the suspect sent a fake RT-PCR report to the decoy's phone, following which the duo was apprehended, he said.

The certificates were issued in the name of a laboratory, whose officials were contacted to ascertain the authenticity of the reports, the official said.

"We have registered a case against the accused under relevant sections of the IPC and Epidemic Diseases Act," he said, adding that at least 27 fake negative reports and some cash were recovered from the accused.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)