Following a complaint by the Kudligi Tahsildar H.J. Rashmi, Kudligi police filed a case on Wednesday against 23 people from Ankanal village in Kudligi taluk of Ballari district on charges of assaulting and preventing government servants from discharging their duties.
Ms. Rashmi had, in her complaint, alleged that the people in question had prevented her and the other officials including Sandur Government Hospital doctor Chandrappa and Panchayat Development Officer Subramanya Malagi from nabbing a person, Jaffer, who was practising the medical profession without any valid qualification and licence and helped him escape on Tuesday.
Acting on the complaint, the police filed a First Information Report against 23 villagers under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) apart from the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act-2007.
Acting on a tip-off, the team headed by Ms. Rashmi raided the ‘clinic’ of Mr. Jaffer in the village. He failed to produce any certificate and licence to support his claimed qualification and practice. The villagers interfered in the verification process by defending the quack and helping him escape. The team then seized drugs worth ₹10,000 from the clinic.
It is learnt that the quack hailed from Kurnool district in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and was running a small clinic in Ankanal village by projecting himself as a qualified doctor. As per the information provided by Ms. Rashmi, a case had already been registered against him in the past for the same offence.
