Out on bail, quack slaps patient's kin

Doctor in dock over wrongful treatment

A quack, out on bail, allegedly hit a woman whose son had lost his leg after being treated by him in Rana Pratap Bagh area.

Reshma, a housekeeping staffer at a girls’ hostel, was outside her house when ‘Dr’ Aftab allegedly slapped her on the face on Wednesday evening.

“He has been hanging around in the area for the past few days now. Today, he was right outside my house around 7.30 pm,”  said Reshma.

“The moment I stepped out, he slapped me. He was also verbally abusive. My neighbours immediately intervened,” added Reshma. The woman then approached Rana Pratap Bagh police station. The quack is out on bail for the past three months now, she said.

Deccan Herald had earlier reported that Reshma’s 10-year-old son Aman lost a leg after the quack wrongly treated him in May. Reshma had complained to the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) following the incident.

“The victim’s mother called me from the police station. It is appalling that the accused once out on bail is threatening the patient party. This is a major reason why patients are scared to complaint against quacks,” said Dr Anil Bansal, Chairperson, Anti-Quackery Committee, DMC.

Though such cases of wrong treatment are on the rise, the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) is lethargic in clamping down on illegal clinics in the city. The DMC was earlier promised that raids would be intensified as a part of the anti-quackery fortnight which the medical body was observing October 1 onwards. 

So far, two raids have been conducted in one of the 11 districts in Delhi. According to the guidelines issued by the High Court in May, Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs), Delhi Police and members from the DMC should conduct raids here.

The DMC cannot conduct raids independently because of lack of resources.“There have been only two raids during this fortnight in which DMC members had participated. We have planned to extend the fortnight to a month so that action is taken on the illegal clinics,” said Dr Girish Tyagi, Registrar, DMC.

Dr S K Sharma, Director, DHS, was not available for comment on why the DHS is not taking any initiative to conduct raids. 

“We approached the DHS for the lack of initiative. The CDMOs told us that there have been no directives from the authorities to conduct raids,” said Dr Bansal.“When we told the Director, he said directives will be issued soon. The quacks are thriving because of there is practically no action being taken,” Dr Bansal added.