A local resident told THT Online that ward chair Dinesh Singh was distributing the medicines (Arsenicum Album 30c) to the local residents through a group of local youths. The source also added that the ward chair had claimed that the pills were capable of boosting the immunity against COVID-19. Apparently, some local residents were excited to receive the pills that ward chair claimed to have made available officially.

Meanwhile, some doctors including Ram Kumar Chaurasiya, the resident of Birgunj Metropolitan City, have refuted the claim made by the ward chair and advised local residents against consuming such medicines.

Another medical practioner that THT Online talked to added that not only are such claims unfounded, they pointed towards the possibility of people getting careless after consuming the pills. 'Reliance on such beliefs may lead to people believing that they are immune to the infection resulting in them shedding preventive measures," elaborated the doctor.

The medicines have been provided by Marwari Sewa Samiti.

The homoeopaths suggest the pills for the treatment of arsenic poisoning.

India's Ministry of Ayurveda,Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy (AYUSH) had, in the recent past, issued an advisory claiming that homeopathic tablets Arsenicum Album 30 helps in preventing COVID-19.

However, many media reports debunked this claim, including India's popular fact-checking site Alt-News, as no published scientific research supporting the theory that these tablets could be of any help in preventing the recent outbreak of COVID-19 could be located.