5 held for stealing plasma from AIIMS blood bank:1,100 units valued at Rs 12 lakh recovered; accused sold it across different states

Bhopal’s Bag Sewaniya police on Wednesday said they have cracked a major theft case involving plasma worth around Rs 12 lakh, which had been stolen from the blood bank at AIIMS Bhopal. As per police, they recovered 1,123 units of Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) and seized Rs 8.57 lakh in cash from the accused who had sold part of the stolen stock. The accused, identified as Lucky Pathak, Deepak Pathak, Ankit Kelkar, Amit Jatav, Karan Chavan and Shyam Badgujar, were arrested following an at-length technical investigation. Complaint was filed by AIIMS security officer Bag Sewaniya police station in-charge Amit Soni said that the case began on September 29, 2025, when AIIMS Bhopal’s Security Officer, Gyanendra Prasad, lodged a complaint about the theft. During the inquiry, Blood Bank In-charge Dr Pratul Sinha identified Ankit Kelkar, an outsourced employee at the AIIMS blood bank, as a key suspect. Police registered a case under Section 305(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated a probe. Key accused planned theft before expiry of contract Kelkar, aware that his contract was ending on September 30, 2025, conspired with Amit Jatav and Lucky Pathak to steal plasma between September 18 and 27, making off with 1,150 FFP packets. The police arrested Kelkar on October 4, 2025, and laid hands on Jatav and Pathak on October 5 thereafter. Plasma sold across states Interrogation by the police revealed that the stolen plasma was sold to Lucky and Deepak Pathak of Life Saver Blood Bank in Bhopal, who later sold it to one Shyam Badgujar from Nashik and Karan Chavan of Aurangabad at Rs 5,800 per litre. Badgujar and Chavan were operating Thalassemia Blood Bank in Indore, Sahyadri Blood Bank in Aurangabad, and another in Sirpur, Maharashtra. Police said the accused intended to sell the plasma to pharmaceutical firms for producing albumin and other medical drugs, but were caught before the sale. Recovered booty The cops confiscated 1,123 plasma units (approx. 224 litres), Rs 8.57 lakh in cash, and a deep freezer worth Rs 27,000. The police added that more suspects may be identified as technical analysis continues.