CUTTACK: Badamba police on Friday arrested a 55-year-old man on charges of impersonating a doctor and running an unlicensed clinic. He is alleged to be performing illegal abortions for over a decade.
The police also seized several medical equipment from the accused, Jayant Bastia of Sunapal under Badamba block, which include a manually-operated suction machine, surgical dilators and tools, injections and medicines. Bastia was running the clinic from his house at Sunapal. Badamba IIC Paramananda Nayak said following a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at the clinic on the day and caught Bastia red-handed while he was reportedly performing an abortion. A woman, who was in critical condition and bleeding profusely, was rescued and admitted to the Badamba CHC.
The raid was led by SI Biswa Bandita Sahoo, who posed as a patient seeking abortion to gather evidence. “On questioning, the accused failed to produce any valid certificate or registration to operate a clinic or conduct medical procedures. According to preliminary investigation, the illegal clinic had been running for the last 12 years,” Nayak said.
Medical officer of Badamba CHC Dr Dolagovinda Jena, who had also accompanied the police, said that Bastia was running the unauthorised clinic and performed abortion illegally.
The name plate posted in front of his clinic show that Bastia held a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) degree. However, the accused also failed to show it. A case has been registered and further investigation is on, police said.