Quack's injection 'kills' girl

A four-year-old girl succumbed on Friday evening within minutes of allegedly being treated by a quack here.

The girl, Janvi, was taken to a clinic in Sainik Enclave, Mohan Garden, when she started vomiting on Friday afternoon.

“She started vomiting at 2 pm. Her condition, otherwise, was normal. We decided to take her to a nearby clinic for a check-up. When we went there, the so-called doctor was not present. The child was given an injection by his wife,” Janvi’s uncle Gajendar Kumar said.

The clinic was allegedly being run by Dharmendar Singh.

Once the child left the clinic with her parents, her eyes became dilated and her behaviour turned erratic, Kumar said.

“She was immediately taken to the clinic, where the woman asked them to take her to a private hospital. The child collapsed there. She died 15 minutes after the injection was given,” Kumar said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem, and test reports will come on Tuesday. The family hailing from Uttar Pradesh stays in Mohan Garden.

“Janvi’s father is a wage labourer. She turned four only a few days ago. We had no clue that the clinic was being run by a quack,” Kumar added.

Dharmendar Singh came to the scene later, only after the child had died, Kumar said.
Police said an FIR has not been lodged in the case yet.

“An FIR can be lodged only after the Delhi Medical Council gives a complaint. We rushed to the clinic after the family dialled 100. While the child’s family alleged that the injection was administered by the doctor’s wife, it is still not known if the accused’s husband is also a quack. Only health inspectors can play a significant role in curbing quacks in these areas,” a police officer with Ranhola police station said.

The Delhi Medical Council’s anti-quackery cell chairperson had received a call from the child’s uncle after the incident.

The official complaint, however, will ascertain if the clinic was being illegally run.
“We will verify from our checklist if the doctor who runs the clinic is registered. If not, the licence will be terminated and the clinic ordered shut. Even if the clinic is not illegal, an FIR should have been immediately lodged in the case. Under current guidelines of the High Court order, the verification process needs to be completed within 72 hours,” chairperson of DMC anti-quackery cell Dr Anil Bansal said.

“But lethargy on the part of police in conducting raids has led to the thriving of quackery in these belts. The government is also apathetic to the situation. There is no effort to implement the recent HC guidelines,” Dr Bansal said.