Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas were looking for a quack after a video purportedly showing him administering intravenous fluids to four people in the truck they arrived in for treatment for cold and diarrhoea went viral on Sunday. The video was the latest in a series of videos that have surfaced and highlighted the problem of quackery in the state and prompted authorities to form teams of officials to crack down on the practice amid a surge in Covid-19 infections.
The health department has issued directions for identifying quacks as scores of them have been identified and arrested in recent weeks. The state home department on Monday ordered the formation of groups at the village and block levels to create awareness against quackery.
“The district collectors have been asked to make a list of quacks to track their activities in the villages. Crises management groups will identify the suspects and hold awareness among people,” said health minister Prabhuram Choudhary.
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Agar Malwa district collector Avdhesh Sharma said they have identified about 350 quacks and acted against them in the last fortnight. “The villagers are more relying on quacks due to misinformation being spread on social media about Covid-19.”
Bhind police superintendent Manoj Kumar Singh said they have identified around 400 quacks. “We sent their samples for Covid-19 testing and found eight of them positive. We have registered cases under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code.”
{{/usCountry}}Bhind police superintendent Manoj Kumar Singh said they have identified around 400 quacks. “We sent their samples for Covid-19 testing and found eight of them positive. We have registered cases under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code.”
{{/usCountry}}Quacks have been caught in places such as Bhopal, Dewas, Agar Malwa, Vidisha, Raisen, and Bhind treating patients in a tin shed, garage, orchard, and a truck.
In the first week of May, a quack, Devidas, was booked for treating a patient in an orchard in Agar Malwa. Surjan Narwaria and Hakim Singh were booked for claiming to be treating a suspected Covid-19 patient in the same district and were found to have been infected. In Vidisha district, Abdul Kareem was arrested while treating Covid 19 suspects.
Prahlad Singh, a resident of village Rajpura, said people were reluctant to go for testing and treatment of Covid 19 as they fear getting quarantined. “They are also being misguided by quacks that they would not survive if they went for treatment of Covid-19. Here in my village, almost every second house has suspected patients, but they are not going for testing.”