Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS): Four persons, including railway hospital employees, were arrested for allegedly stealing anti-viral drug Remdesivir to sell in the black market at exorbitant rates, police said on Tuesday.

"On a tip-off from staff, the Railway Police Force (RPF) arrested the four accused for stealing the drug from the railway hospital here and selling the vials in black," the South Western Railway (SWR) said in a statement here.

"A contractual worker and group C/D employees of the divisional railway hospital are among the accused in the crime," it said.

The accused were sent to judicial custody by a local court.

"The staff have been suspended and disciplinary action has been initiated against them," added the statement.

The zonal railway hospital near the main city station has been operating as a designated hospital to treat Covid patients referred by the Karnataka government as Bengaluru has been reporting record number of positive cases during the pandemic's second wave.

The hospital has 65 beds with 15 intensive care units and is equipped with a centralised oxygen supply system.