18-year-old ‘quack’ held after injections he gave kills man in east Delhi

Delhi Police arrested an 18-year-old quack for administering incorrect injections to a man, leading to his death. Investigation ongoing.

The Delhi Police has apprehended an “18-year-old quack” for allegedly administering wrong injections to a 55-year-old man, leading to his death in Shahdara last week.

The police on Monday said they nabbed the teenager, a resident of Krishna Nagar, and booked him on charges of culpable homicide. (Representational image)

Police said the victim was complaining of abdominal pain and was taken to a local clinic in Raghubarpura, Gandhi Nagar, where the teenager, posing as a medical practitioner, allegedly gave him two injections.

The police on Monday said they nabbed the teenager, a resident of Krishna Nagar, and booked him on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said the age and the educational qualifications of the suspect is being verified.

The deceased, Mohammad Sataar, worked as a tailor at a garments workshop in east Delhi and is survived by his wife and their four children aged 18, 16, 13 and 10 years.

Police said on Friday afternoon Sataar felt unwell and asked his brother-in-law Imtiyaz Khuda Baksh (29) to help him.

Baksh told HT, “He complained of severe abdominal pain. He asked me to take him to a hospital. I picked him up and took him to Sitamadhi Clinic. The clinic is hardly 20 feet away from our house and has been there for years. But this was the first time we went there.”

Baksh alleged that there were four staff members at the clinic and the one who looked the “youngest” took them to a room. HT accessed the FIR copy in the case which states that the suspect then went on to administer two injections -- deca instabolin 50 and ceftriaxone 1000 mg. He also gave some medicines to the victim.

Deca instabolin is reportedly used for osteoporosis and anaemia while ceftriaxone is used for bacterial infections, said police, quoting health experts.

Baksh alleged that Sataar was not asked about his symptoms or ailment before being administered the drugs. “We thought he was a medical practitioner. He told us that Sataar was suffering from some abdominal infection and weakness and gave him the injections,” he said.

“I took him to his house and went inside the kitchen to fetch water. When I returned, he was lying on the floor. I checked his pulse and he was dead. I am not able to come to terms with all this…I can’t talk to my sister. I feel like I killed her husband. We just want that man to be arrested and tried for murder. I did not know he was just a teenager with no medical degree,” said Baksh.

The FIR states that a police and forensic team searched the clinic and found wrappers, empty vials (of the two injections) and used syringes.

DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said, “The team collected evidence and took photographs of the scene. We are awaiting the autopsy report. Prima facie, the man was unwell and had some minor infection but was given the wrong medication. He died within a few minutes. We have caught the suspect. However, the court has told us to verify his age. We will take further legal action based on the autopsy and forensics report.”