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Plea in HC seeks Z-plus security for SII CEO Adar Poonawalla

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court has sought Z-plus security for Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer of the Serum Institute of India

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla  

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court has sought Z-plus security for Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer of the Serum Institute of India (SII) which manufactures the Covishield vaccine against COVID-19.

The Union government has already granted `Y' category security to the Pune-based industrialist.

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Advocate Datta Mane, the petitioner, also sought a direction to the police to register FIR and carry out a probe into alleged threat to Poonawalla over the supply of vaccine.

If vaccine makers felt unsafe, it could affect vaccine production, the petition, filed on Wednesday, said.

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"If Adar Poonawalla is out of India due to threat to his life, then it (his company) will be a ship in a storm without its captain," said the plea.

Poonawalla had said in a recent interview to The Times that he left for the United Kingdom due to threats and pressure from `powerful people' seeking vaccine doses on priority.

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Mane further said in the petition that he has approached the Commissioner of Police, Pune and Maharashtra Director General of Police with a complaint about alleged threat to the SII CEO.

The high court should direct the police to register FIR and ask the government to provide higher-level security to Poonawalla, the petition said.

It will come up for hearing in due course.

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