Six quacks were on Tuesday arrested for running illegal private health care units for more than a decade in major towns like Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur, following a crackdown by officials of the Health Department.
Health officials said S. Palani, 51, K. Velan, 49, V. Parthiban, 47, C. Ganesh, 30, B. Jayapaul, 68, and K. Govindaswamy, 47, had been offering medical treatment to patients for more than a decade, without professional qualification. The first two accused belong to Anganathavalasai village in Tirupattur town, while Parthiban is a resident of Sankarapuram in Vaniyambadi and Ganesh belongs to Jolarpet town. Jayapaul and Govindaswamy belong to Kadambur and Machampattu villages in Ambur town. “Based on alerts, we conducted day-long searches in the district and [the police] arrested those who had permanent clinics in the villages. We are also focusing on [mobile] quacks (who go from one place to another on vehicles),” Dr. K. Marimuthu, Joint Director of Health Services (Tirupattur), told The Hindu. Following complaints about quacks, K. Balakrishnan, Superintendent of Police, formed 12 special teams to conduct the searches along with Health Department officials on Tuesday. Each team had one police inspector, two SIs, a doctor, a pharmacist and a drug inspector. During the searches, which were carried out between 10 a.m. and 5.30 p.m., health officials said most of the suspects claimed they received training from a private medical institute in Chennai, where all their professional certificates were being kept. However, during the inquiry, the health team and the police found that they were unable to explain medical terms and practices.
Initial investigation revealed that the quacks were getting at least 15-20 patients every day, with the number of visitors doubling during weekends.
The health centres were sealed. The team also seized medical equipment, including blood pressure apparatus, stethoscope, syringes and intravenous drips. Most of the arrested quacks are repeat offenders. Cases have been filed against them by Tirupattur taluk, Ambur and Vaniyambadi town police. The arrested quacks were lodged in prison, officials said.
