Hyderabad, Dec 10 : A neurosurgeon and two hospital employees are among five persons booked by Hyderabad Police in connection with the death of two men due to anaesthetic injection.

A week after two men were found dead in an autorickshaw in the Chandrayangutta area, police on Wednesday announced that they had cracked the case and arrested three persons involved in illegally procuring, selling, and administering an anaesthesia drug.

According to police, S. Jaipal Reddy, a neurosurgeon and Chairman and MD of ABS Hospitals and his assistant Mohammed Vikaruddin failed to secure Atranium injections after a surgery, which gave a chance to ward boy Choude Akash to steal the leftover injections, which were later illegally sold and ultimately led to the deaths of two persons.

K. Sreekanth, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, South East Zone, announced the details of the case at a press conference.

The accused have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Syed Irfan (27) and Jhangir Khan (25), both autorickshaw drivers, were found dead in an autorickshaw under the limits of Chandrayangutta Police Station on December 3.

Investigations revealed that they collapsed and died after taking the Atranium 25 mg injection.

Police cracked the case based on the statement of Saif Bin Akram, who had survived after taking one ml injection along with the deceased.

Police investigation revealed that on the night of December 2, Syed Irfan and Saif Bin Akram contacted their friend Jahangir Khan requesting for â??Termineâ?? injection, which they were habitually using. Jahangir approached his friend Yamjala Kalyan, who in turn contacted Jarpati Shiva Shankar alias Chintu, an autorickshaw driver known to supply such substances.

Shiva informed that Termine was unavailable but sent photos of Atranium 25 mg anaesthesia injections. Jahangir purchased the same. Around midnight, Irfan and Saif purchased two syringes from a medical shop and reached MBNR X Road, where they met Jahangir and Kalyan. All of them proceeded in an auto to Chandrayangutta. At the spot, Jahangir produced four Atranium 25 mg ampoules, and Irfan filled three syringes (02 ml Ã?2, 05 ml Ã?1) with Atranium. Irfan first injected 1 ml into Saif Bin Akram, who immediately felt dizzy. Out of fear, Kalyan fled from the scene.

After some time, Saif regained consciousness and noticed that Irfan and Jahangir had taken the remaining injections and had fallen unconscious.

Based on Saifâ??s statement, police apprehended Kalyan, a band player, who used to contact Shiva for the Termine injection. On December 2, Kalyan, accompanied by Jahangir, went to Shivaâ??s residence and purchased four Atranium ampoules for Rs 2,000.

Shiva admitted that, like Kalyan, he too was addicted to ganja, liquor, and Termine injections. He used to buy Termine injections from his friend Akash and resell them to Kalyan and others.

Akash, also a drug addict, had been working in ABS hospital, Chikkadpally, as a ward boy since November 15. He admitted that during OT cleaning duties at ABS Hospital on November 26, he had stolen a pack of four Atranium 25 mg ampoules and hid them at his residence. The next day, he sold the ampoules to Shiva.

Police said neurosurgeon Jaipal Reddy, on November 25, had ordered 25 injections of Atranium 25 mg from a pharmacy. The next day, he used four injections on a patient for a surgery and left the remaining in the OT without taking precautionary measures to secure them. This lapse and negligence in securing controlled drugs gave a chance to Akash to steal the leftover injections, which were later illegally sold and misused, ultimately leading to the deaths of Jahangir and Syed Irfan, police said.

The hospital management also failed to generate a proper bill for the Atranium 25 mg injections and thus violated the rules of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Mohammed Vikaruddin, studying GNM at a nursing school, has been working as a surgeonâ??s assistant at ABS Hospital for the past one year. On November 26, he arranged all medicines in the OT, including 25 vials of Atranium 25 mg, but after the surgery on a patient, he did not take precautions to secure the remaining vials.

/IANS