Police have arrested a quack who had duped hundreds of paralytic patients in Khalikote area.
The quack, identified as Khadala Pradhan hailing from Jilundi under Bhanjanagar police limits, had been running an Ayurvedic dispensary at Khalikote for the last one year. He used to claim that the Kerala Ayurvedic treatment practised by him can cure any paralytic patient.
Pradhan had also allegedly engaged some fake patients who pretended to be paralytic patients and told the people that they were cured by treatment of Pradhan. Convinced by the claim of the fake patients, the innocent people of nearby areas of Khalikote started consulting Pradhan who collected thousands of rupees from them on the pretext of treatment.
Pradhan continued the treatment of each patient for around a year claiming that after that only it would yield result.
Since nobody raised doubt over his treatment, the number of patients visiting the dispensary increased to a large extent while Pradhan earned lakhs of rupees.
But, recently the dispensary was found closed. As Pradhan was also not traced after desperate search by the duped families, they lodged a complaint with Khalikote police.
Since Pradhan hails from Bhanjanagar area, Khalikote police sought their assistance. Recently Pradhan’s wife had lodged a complaint against him with Bhanjanagar police who arrested Pradhan who was remanded to judicial custody after court rejected his bail plea.
On Thursday, as Pradhan was released on bail, Khalikote police nabbed him. He was being interrogated till the report was filed.