Medical waste racket: Cops to quiz staff of logistic firm

The Sion police probing into the case of medical waste seized on Thursday will be questioning the owners and staff of SMS Logistics that have been given the contract to dispose the hazardous refuge by the BMC. The cops will also write to the civic body, asking it to take action against contractors flouting rules.

Cops said the accused – Mujahhidin Manawar and Inayat Khan – have confessed that they had taken the bio-medical waste from a driver who worked for SMS Logistics. The police suspect drivers of the logistic company have links with the people who run a racket of medical waste.

On Thursday, the Matunga traffic division intercepted a tempo carrying clinical waste and busted a racket in which these items were being sold to medical shops and were being reused.

The police said drivers of SMS Logistics used to collect the waste from various hospitals and instead of dumping it in the designated place, they would transfer it to vehicles operated by the racketeer.

An officer attached to the Sion police station said, "We will be questioning drivers of SMS Logistics as they were the one who were supposed to collect and burn the medical waste in Deonar."

The officer said they were in the process of ascertaining how much money a driver used to get to pass on the medical waste to the racketeer. He said they will request the BMC to set up a mechanism that will the help the civic body keep a check on such violations.