BERHAMPUR: A Class VIII dropout and a migrant worker who was employed in a Surat spinning mill for years turned into a doctor back home in Ganjam where he ran a clinic for three years. Police arrested the 44-year-old quack on Saturday. He was posing as a doctor and operating a clinic for last three years in Jagannathprasad block here. Turns out, accused Lal Bahadur Nayak who claimed to be an MBBS was from Chamusahi.
After detaining him on Thursday, police raided his clinic Saswata Seva Kendra at Kumpapada Chowk following a complaint by a female patient. The woman had alleged that Nayak, who referred to himself as “Dr Lal” had duped her of a lot of money without treating her. In the raid that followed, Nayak could neither produce the licence nor his educational qualification to run the clinic. Medicines and equipment worth `3 lakh were also seized and Nayak was taken for interrogation.
Nayak, who returned to his native in 2017, opened the clinic by taking advantage of gullible villagers who believed him since he stayed outside the state for a long time.Sources said, the clinic had four beds but over 100 people on an average visited daily as Nayak claimed to have “treated” scores of patients with commonly prescribed medicines. However, people got suspicious later as he refrained from treating any serious medical condition and referred them to other hospitals.
In fact, the local administration had ordered the clinic to be sealed last year as it was running without a license but Nayak had managed to run the business surreptitiously. Details during probe revealed that apart from Nayak, his father too was a quack who was treating patients in the vicinity five to six years back but later went back to the village.
Jagannathprasad IIC Dilip Kumar Swain said the accused was produced in court and further investigation is underway. Nayak’s arrest has belied claims of the administration, police and health officials of having maintained strict vigil on private and unlicensed clinics.