Mira-Bhayander: Police arrest electropath for illegally practising allopathy; medicines and injections worth over Rs 56,000 seized

The crime branch unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police led by API Kailash Tokle booked an electro path who was found to be illegally practising allopathy at his clinic in Kashimira.

The police team was accompanied by medicos from the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) led by medical officer Dr Gayatri Jaddhav.

Acting on a tip-off, the team swooped down on the electro-homoeopathy clinic on Monday evening. The clinic was run by a person identified as Umakant Gharate who not only prescribed allopathic medicines but also used the title of doctor with his name.

After Gharate failed to produce legitimate documents including- medical degree, authorization issued by the Maharashtra Medical Council, license issued by the MBMC's health department or bio-medical waste handling certificate- the police booked him under section 33 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961. All he could produce was the Xerox copy of a certificate issued by a Jalgaon-based electro-medico educational institution, said an official.

The police seized allopathic medicines and injections worth more than Rs. 56,000. Further investigations were on. There are 207 private hospitals and more than 880 listed clinics in the twin-city. However, unqualified medical practitioners have mushroomed in the twin-city- especially in slum clusters.

Notably, the MBMC has recently registered an offence against a quack who managed to secure a contractual job at the civic body’s own healthcare facility to treat Covid-19 patients.

Taking serious note of quacks who can become a reason for a patient's death due to negligence, the Lokayukta had recently sought an action taken report from civic bodies.