Raids on over 100 quacks held

Hyderabad: As many as 107 persons were taken into custody by the South Zone Police for illegally running clinics and providing medical treatment to the public.

The raids were conducted following the death of one Khaja Naeemuddin (45) of Nawab Sahab Kunta in Chandrayangutta police station limits, due to the treatment by a fake doctor, who also burnt Naeemuddin’s body to cover up the crime. In another incident at Hussaini Alam PS limits, a woman suffered paralytic attack after a quack provided her with medication.

In order to curtail the menace of fake doctors, the South Zone police conducted cordon and search operations on the entire private doctors and Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs).

South Zone DCP V Satayanarayana said due to poverty and increase in health care expenditure, the residents of Old City had been visiting quacks of Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani, and the public were unaware that these persons did not have authorisation to run clinics.

He said without any professional qualification to provide treatment, the accused were posing as RMPs and Unani doctors. In some places, the fake doctors were also administering injections to patients, he said.

During the raids, police found that one Syed Akbar (25) of Kishan Bagh, who studied only up to seventh class, was selling tablets in a car and was also selling adhesives (whiteners) to teenagers.

Another person, Hasan, Bachelor of Electro Homoeopathy Medicine, was running a clinic. According to the Council for Jauhar Electro Homoeopathy Medicos of India, he can practice by using only Electropathy medicine. But Hasan was running a poly clinic posing as MBBS, MD (General Medicine) general physician.

Similarly, Mohammed Sayeedul Hasan, qualified in BEMS, was also prescribing allopathic medicine and a school dropout, Md Abdul Quddus of Yakuthpura, was found preaching, supplying and giving Unani medicine to the innocent public.

Another person, Rizwan-ur-Rahman, was found practising BDS although he dropped out during 1st year BDS course in 2008. He does not have valid certificates and the registration with the Dental Council of India.

The DCP said the majority of BUMS and BEMS practitioners were found prescribing allopathic antibiotics to their patients to earn more money. Several RMPs were also seen impersonating as doctors by prefixing ‘Dr’ before their name and prescribing allopathic medicine to the public for all kinds of deceases.

Cases have been booked against the accused persons under relevant sections and investigation is on, the DCP said adding that the police were seeking the opinion of the Telangana Medical Council.

“Some of the practitioners kept their clinics closed and ran away during the raids. Cases will be booked against them under non-boilable sections for playing with the lives of innocent public,” DCP Satyanarayana said.