Thread by @therealbanka

The Covid vaccination scam happening right under our noses.

This is going to be a long post, so I would urge you to read it till the end. 1/n

I and my sister were scheduled for our second vaccination dose at Balajee Hospital in Malad yesterday. Upon arrival itself, things seemed a little odd. There were men and women dressed in corporate outfits and it looked like a seminar setting than a vaccination centre. 2/n

Reluctantly, we still stood in the line and waited for our turn.

15 mins later, we go to the first counter where we are asked 800 rupees in cash and our name. The official amount is 780 and when we asked them why 800 is charged, they said Rs 20 is the hospital service fee 3/n

which made no sense since the official fee includes all charges. None of our documents or anything whatsoever is checked. The lady at the counter writes our name on a paper card and passes it ahead. 4/n

On the next counter, we are asked our 4 digits secret code and told to proceed with the vaccination. No document check-up, no official receipt, nothing. 5/n

We noticed that there were poor people who were being charged extra on the pretext of being registered while I doubt they were being registered or given any certificate. 6/n

Our vaccination was a shady room with a stool where we were literally stabbed with the vaccine, not injected and told to leave post that. No waiting post the jab or anything of that sort. The needles used were lying on the floor and there was no sanitization maintained. 7/n

I wouldn't be surprised if they reused needles. We were given no official receipt or anything of that sort. They were handling people paper receipts like the ones you get from your bhajiwala and telling people to leave. 8/n

When we complained, we were told to keep low and not make noise and said to take our 40 Rs extra and leave. We were adamant that they are doing a scam and everyone should be returned their money and given official receipts. We were then physically harassed and assaulted, 9/n

our phones were confiscated and we were not able to record any video and were hounded by 4 men who violently assaulted us. They threatened us that they have complete power and they can do what they want. The language they spoke with was absolutely unheard of. 10/n

After 2 hours they still gave us a fake receipt and said this is the best they can do and told us to fuck off. Upon leaving, the watchman and the maushi who were aged 70 yrs, pleaded with folded hands to help them and take some action as there is a massive scam happening 11/n

They were practically running the place in the name of a hospital and collecting everything in black money. 12/n

We then proceeded to file an FIR at a police station that is barely 200 metres away where the police officer was reluctant to file one. He sent his police van and came back with none of the 4. When we were adamant, 2 of the guys showed up and said the other 2 have left. 13/n

The owner of the hospital called up the police officer and was pestering him not to register an FIR.

This is a scam that has been happening for the whole of last year. Upon googling and checking on Twitter I found quite a few such complaints. 14/n

What is happening at Balajee Hospital is a major health hazard and a scam that is operating openly. The owner is feeding off the fear and ignorance of illiterate old people regarding the vaccine.

I would urge the authorities to take action @mybmc @mybmcWardPS @mybmcWardPN

@OfficeofUT @rajeshtope11 @AUThackeray @MumbaiPolice @PoliceMumbai100 @mybmcHealthDept @mybmcPHD

Adding: We did get the certificate on the portal as soon as we got jabbed but the whole process was shady, to say the least. The 4 people who were harassing us refused to tell their name, designation or authority. We came to know their names when 2 of them came to the station.