Rajkot, April 22: Police on Wednesday arrested two persons for allegedly selling COVID-19 beds in Rajkot Civil Hospital. The arrests came after a video of one of the accused setting Rs 9,000 as price for one COVID-19 bed in Rajkot Civil Hospital before some relative of a patient went viral on social media. The two accused were identified as Jagdish Solanki, an attendant in the hospital, and Hitesh Mahina, a sweeper. Gujarat Reports Highest Daily Rise of 12,553 COVID-19 Cases.

In the viral video, Jagdish Solanki is seen sitting in the rear seat of a car. He asks for Rs 9,000 for a bed when relatives of a patient bargain. In between the negotiation, Solanki receives a call. "I won’t take anything less than Rs 9,000. If you have money, come in your vehicle at Chaudhary school and call me," he is heard telling the caller. Asked if he has to give some amount to the doctors, Solanki answers in affirmative. Rajkot: COVID-19 Positive Patient, Searching for Hospital Bed, Faints on Road, Passerby Comes to His Rescue.

"I have to pay other people above me.. it’s very difficult at present to get a bed. There are many people taking this," he says. Eventually, those who recorded the video made a deal of Rs 8,000 with Solanki. After the video emerged, police arrested Solanki and Hitesh Mahina and registered a case against them.

"They used the loopholes in the system to give backdoor entry to Covid patients in exchange for money. We will register an FIR against them after collecting more evidence," Police Inspector V K Gadhvi was quoted by TOI as saying. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Rajkot reported 397 fresh COVID-19 cases and 8 deaths due to the infection.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2021 11:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).