Thief who stole vaccines from Haryana hospital returns vials, leaves note apologising

The thief who stole 1,710 vials of coronavirus vaccines from the storeroom of a hospital in Haryana's Jind district has returned them with a note apologising for the theft. According to this note, the thief did not know that the vials he had stolen were COVID-19 vaccines.

The note in Hindi read, "Sorry, I didn't know these were COVID-19 vaccines."

Apology note left by the COVID-19 vaccine thief in Haryana (Image: Satender Chouhan/India Today)

Some other clues that can lead the police to the identity of the vaccine thieves have also been found. The Civil Surgeon has sought information on whether the recovered vaccines can be used or not.

Locals found 622 stolen doses at a tea stall outside the Civil Lines police station in Jind. 182 doses of Covishield and 440 doses of COVAXIN have been recovered, according to the police.

Earlier on Thursday, thieves had broken into the storeroom of the PPE Centre of the Civil Hospital in Jind and stole as many as 1,710 doses of the coronavirus. These include 1,270 doses of the Covishield vaccine and 440 doses of COVAXIN.

The matter came to light after officials reached the vaccination centre on Thursday only to discover the storeroom had been broken into. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the hospital Dr Bimla Rathi said that all the jabs including BCG and polio vaccines and other medicines remained untouched whereas COVID-19 vaccines were stolen.

It was also reported that the vaccination centre did not have CCTV surveillance system or a security guard to prevent theft of COVID-19 vaccines.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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