Illegal clinics claim life of pregnant woman, 1 more
DANGEROUS Two incidents in Bharatpur put focus on need to curb treatment by quacks BHARATPUR:
Illegal clinics run by quacks, unqualified healthcare providers, claimed two lives in Bharatpur district, putting spotlight on the need to curb such practices.
A 27-year-old woman died after a quack terminated her three-month pregnancy in Bharatpur city, police said.
After termination of pregnancy, Rakhi Devi from Bada Mohalla under Kotwali police station suffered bleeding. Her family took her to the district hospital on Thursday evening, where doctors declared her dead on arrival due to excessive bleeding. The body was handed over to the family on Friday after the postmortem.
Police registered a complaint lodged by Rakhi Devi’s husband Chandan Singh. In the complaint, Singh blamed the quack, Tanu Devi, a nurse in a private hospital, for her wife’s death.
He said they took Rakhi Devi to hospital on May 22 after she complained of stomach pain, but Tanu Devi met them on the way. The nurse took Rakhi Devi to her house and confirmed that she was three-month pregnant.
Singh said Tanu Devi aborted the pregnancy, but the bleeding continued after his wife came home. Family members then took her to a private hospital on May 24, but doctors recommended that she be taken to a better healthcare centre in Jaipur, Singh said. The family rushed her to Raj Bahadur Memorial district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
“In the complainant, the woman’s husband alleged that negligence led to her death. Police are trying to arrest the quack who is on the run,” said Rajesh Verma, station house officer of Kotwali police.
In a similar incident, a man, Fajju Mev (35) from Gadhajan village, died after an unauthorised medical practitioner treated him in Kaman. Mev’s son Mohammad Afridi took his father to the quack, Rajendra Sain, after he complained of stomach pain, police said.
Afridi said his father fell unconsciousness after the quack administered him an injection and gave tablets. He then took his father to the community health centre at Kaman, where doctors declared him dead.
“The body was kept in mortuary for postmortem after the man’s son lodged a complaint,” said Neki Ram Chaudharu, SHO of Kaman police station. “After being informed, police reached the spot. Police will inquire and take legal action against the quack after getting the postmortem report.”
Illegal clinics run by untrained practitioners in towns and rural areas of Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district pose dangers to people’s lives. The medical and health department had issued notices to 151 quacks; six quack clinics were sealed and seven closed till last year.
“Nearly 430-500 quacks are illegally practising in the district,” said Praveen Kumar, coordinator of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and in-charge of action against quacks.
Ileegal clinics are being run in rural areas of Kaman, Pahari, Sikri, Gopalgarh, Jurahara, Nagar, Deeg, Kumher, Sewar, Nadbai, Rupwas, Uchchain, Bayana, Weir, and Bhusawar of Bharatpur district.
Such clinics are also being run in Dholpur, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur districts of Bharatpur division.
“We have formed teams to start a campaign for legal action against quacks. I have directed all block chief medical and health officers to list inexperienced practitioners who run clinics without licence. We will take police help during the campaign,” said Gopal Ram, Bharatpur chief medical and health officer.
Under the Drug and Cosmetic Rules 1945, medicines cannot be supplied to clinics if they do not have licence from the drug department and the drug control organisation of Rajasthan.