TIRUPATTUR: During special raids across the district on Tuesday, joint teams of the Tirupattur Police and district health departments arrested six quacks who had been posing as doctors. This comes amid regular complaints regarding the issue.
According to the police, based on a tip-off, and information from the health department, the personnel made the list of quacks running clinics without degrees in medical education. Around ten special teams, three each at Tirupattur, Vaniyambadi, Ambur and two at Natrampalli conducted surprise raids in various hospitals across the district on Tuesday.
Each team, consisting of an inspector, two sub-inspectors, four police personnel, a pharmacist and drug inspector from the Health Department, questioned the 'doctors'. Based on the interrogation, six quacks had been secured and remanded on Tuesday night.
Two accused are from Umrabad police station limit in Ambur, another two are from Tirupattur police station limit, and one each from Ambalur and Jolarpet. "Most of them do not have any kind of education, some have run medical stores and started running neighbourhood clinics. Few have been running the clinic for 10 - 20 years," Joint Director of Health and Rural Medicine, Tirupattur district, Dr K Marimuthu told TNIE.
A case has been registered under sections 417 (punishment for cheating) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) under the IPC and under Indian Medical Council Act 1956. Action would be taken against quacks that are playing with the lives of the patients, Tirupattur district Superintendent of Police Dr KS Ballakrisshnan told TNIE. Repeated offenders would be arrested under the Goondas Act, he further said.