Hyderabad: Perhaps in the first such instance of the crime during the current COVID-19 times, a 25-year-old man was on Monday arrested here for allegedly cheating over 200 people by promising to donate plasma for Coronavirus patients and arranging drugs, police said.
Plasma therapy involves infusing blood from persons who have recovered from Coronavirus to the affected ones.
The accused decided to cash in on the demand for plasma of people who have recovered from COVID-19 and also for antiviral drugs, police said.
He would browse different social networking apps to find out those seeking plasma donors and contact them over the phone by introducing himself as an individual having recovered from the viral attack and willing to donate plasma, a press release from the police said.
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The accused would then request the person in need of the blood component to send some money for his transportation. However, after getting the money through online payment apps, he would stop contacting them, police said.
Similarly, the accused also cheated some people in the guise of arranging anti-viral drugs used for Covid-19 patients.
The issue came to light after one of the victims approached the police.
PTI
