As many as 860 injections of Remdesivir drug, which is in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients, were found "stolen" from the stock of the government-run Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, police said.
An official said that an internal sabotage cannot be ruled out behind the incident.
"860 Remdesivir injections were found stolen. We are investigating," Bhopal Deputy Inspector General of Police Irshad Wali told PTI.
Asked whether the police have some leads in the case, he said the probe is on.
Earlier in the day, MP Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said, "I have received the information about the theft of the injections. This is a very serious matter. Divisional Commissioner Kavindra Kiyawat and Bhopal Deputy Inspector General of Police Irshad Wali have reached the spot and started investigations," he told reporters at the facility.
A case has been registered with the Koh-e-FIza police station under sections 457 (house-breaking by night) and 380 (theft in any building) of the Indian Penal Code.
Shortage of Remdesivir injections has been reported from various parts of Madhya Pradesh which are battling a surge in COVID-19 cases.
On April 16, Madhya Pradesh recorded 11,045 fresh coronavirus cases, its biggest one-day spike so far, taking the state''s infection count to 3,84,563, as per the state health department. The overall fatality count rose to 4,425 as 60 more patients succumbed to the infection.
Madhya Pradesh has recorded 89,052 new cases and 439 fatalities since the beginning of April.
Couple Threatened And Extorted, Woman Molested At Madhya Pradesh Picnic Spot Woman Dies After 'Dupatta' Gets Caught In Machine At Food Centre Of Mahakaleshwar Temple MP Woman Stabs Husband's Employee To Death Suspecting Affair 3 Khalistani Terrorists, Who Attacked Punjab Cops, Killed In UP Encounter Bashar Al-Assad's Wife Files For Divorce, Wants To Return To UK: Report Pics: Rahul Gandhi's Family Lunch At Iconic Delhi Restaurant Forced Nudity, Sleep Deprivation: How CIA Tortured Prisoners At Black Sites Kerala Removes Biomedical Waste Illegally Dumped In Tamil Nadu "Working Longer Is...": Congress MP On Narayana Murthy's 70-Hour Workweek Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.