Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The health department officials, in a joint operation with the MIDC Waluj police, busted two illegal “naturopathy” clinics in the Ranjangaon Shenpunji area on Friday and arrested two quacks, who posed as doctors and treated patients without licence or permission.
The accused have been identified as Shailandu Das and Sanjay Mandal, both natives of West Bengal.
They were running Shrikrishna and Parvati naturopathy clinics, respectively. They have been booked under various sections of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, the National Medical Commission Act 2019, the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act, 2006, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating.
The action was taken on the basis of a complaint lodged by the taluka health officer, Dr Rangnath Kale, who had received several complaints from local residents about the dubious activities of the two quacks. Dr Kale said the quacks were exploiting the gullibility of people and claiming they could cure various diseases through ‘naturopathy’, which is a system of alternative medicine that uses natural remedies and lifestyle changes.
Inspector Avinash Aghav, of the MIDC Waluj police station, said that during the raid, the officials seized several fake certificates, prescriptions, medicines and equipment from the clinics. He said the preliminary investigation has revealed that the quacks did not have any legally valid medical degree or certificate and were practising medicine without authorization or supervision.
He said the quacks were also involved in supplying spurious and adulterated medicines suspected to have been sourced from other districts and states. They were making huge profits from their illegal business. Aghav said the police are probing the source and network of the quacks and are looking for their accomplices. The health department officials and the police have appealed to the public to be vigilant and not fall prey to such quacks. They have also requested people to report any such incidents to the authorities.
