Doctors are arrested for fake Covid vaccine scam where 2,500 people were injected with SEA WATER in India 14 people have been arrested so far on charges of manslaughter and criminal conspiracy The scams were carried out in and around the financial hub of Mumbai Doctors and medical staff allegedly used hospital access to make fake vaccine certificates The organisers made over £20,000 before the programme was uncovered By David Averre For Mailonline Published: 09:22 BST, 6 July 2021 | Updated: 09:25 BST, 6 July 2021 Viewcomments Police have arrested 14 people in India after they uncovered a fake Coronavirus vaccine programme that injected its victims with sea water. At least 12 fake vaccination programmes were carried out in an around the country's financial hub in Mumbai between May and June, with the organisers charging their victims for the shots. Over 2500 people were swindled by the scam organised by doctors and medical staff, who allegedly used their hospital access to create fake certificates and syringes. Charges faced by the detainees include manslaughter, criminal conspiracy and fraud. The coronavirus crisis in India has been devastating, with the country reaching the grim milestone of over 400,000 deaths last week (there is no implication that any of the health workers pictured are involved in the scam) Indian authorities reported this morning 34,703 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data, with active cases at 464,357 (there is no implication that any of the health workers pictured are involved in the scam) Authorities have launched their vaccination programme and are using a variety of methods to boost awareness of the importance of the vaccine in a country where over 400,000 have died Mumbai police department official Vishal Thakur said: '[The doctors] were using saline water and injecting it. 'Every fake vaccination camp that they held, they were doing this. 'We have arrested doctors - they were using a hospital which was producing the fake certificates, vials, syringes.' Thakur said the police are conducting further investigations into the fake vaccination drives and the doctors and medical staff behind them, and expected that more arrests would be made. Police began investigating the scheme when victims of the scam grew suspicious of the legitimacy of their certificates and reported it to the authorities. The second wave of coronavirus in India infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands of people between April and June alone as health authorities struggled to support the sheer number of people requiring medical attention and oxygen India's vaccine drive is well underway now, but so far less than 5% of the country's entire population has been fully vaccinated Mumbai lawyer Siddharth Chandrashekhar has initiated legal action against the doctors after authorities confirmed last month they had already confirmed 2,000 victims of the scams. The Bombay High Court said the allegations were 'really shocking' and urged local authorities to remain vigilant 'so that innocent individuals are not duped in future.' India was hit by a devastating second wave of coronavirus earlier this year between April and early June, which saw the number of cases increase in their millions as the death toll climbed into the hundreds of thousands. Cases have begun to slowly decline from June as the authorities begin to roll out their vaccination programme, to step up their vaccination program during the country's recovery. Data provided by John Hopkins University shows that more than 62 million people have been fully vaccinated in India, but this amounts to less than 5% of the total population. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility