The shadow police on Wednesday nabbed a vegetable vendor-turned-quackfrom Palarivattom. According to the shadow police officials, Joshy Mathew, 38, of Anakkad House on Apollo Road near Thammanam, was running clinics in several places across the state for the last one year.
According to the cops, Mathew was a vegetable vendor in Ernakulam market, and he had opened a clinic named Shizhe Wellness Centre one year ago. He also had clinics in Kattappana, Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha. The inauguration of a new clinic in Adoor was to be held in the first week of February.
Special Branch Assistant Commissioner Tommy Sebastian said that they had received a postal complaint about the quack a few weeks ago. Later, when the shadow police visited the clinic in Palarivattom under the pretext of consultation, they learnt that Joshy was running a medical business in the multi-level marketing model.
“He used to sell the medicine by giving commission to people who bring patients to him. Aphrodisiac medicines are one of the major items sold. He was having a good business. He also had a medicine manufacturing laboratory,” said Assistant Commissioner Sebastian.
After getting caught, the accused initially gave a statement that he possessed a doctorate from a university in Beijing.
However, during detailed interrogation, he said that he had attended a two-month course in Beijing. However, the cops could not find any document establishing his claim.
The police learnt that Joshy had gone to West Bengal a few years ago, and worked in private clinics. The police checked the documents, and learnt that he had only studied till class XII.
The police team, including doctors and drug inspectors, raided the clinic and seized the documents and medicine samples. He will be produced before the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate on Thursday.