The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday lodged a police complaint against yoga guru Ramdev, seeking an FIR against him under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code, for allegedly making false claims and trying to profit during a pandemic.
In a 14-page complaint to the IP Estate police station, the association of doctors has alleged that Ramdev and his associates have been deliberately casting doubts and spreading misinformation about allopathic treatments in order to sell unproven and unapproved drugs such as Coronil and Swasari.
“It is stated that the accused being a businessman, in order to take advantage of the present situation and his large public following, is wilfully and deliberately advancing dishonest representations… about allopathy and modern medicine … and to swindle them into parting with their monies by taking Swami Ramdev’s unapproved and dubious drugs,” said the complaint.
IMA previously demanded an apology from Ramdev over his remarks on allopathic medicine, calling it a “stupid science”. He withdrew his statements after receiving a strong-worded letter from Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who called his remarks “inappropriate”.
In its complaint, the doctors’ body said that Ramdev’s statements “tantamount to dishonest representation being issued with ulterior motive”.
{{/usCountry}}In its complaint, the doctors’ body said that Ramdev’s statements “tantamount to dishonest representation being issued with ulterior motive”.
{{/usCountry}}In another video, the IMA said, the yoga guru is seen stating that 10,000 doctors have died despite being vaccinated; IMA stated that so far 753 doctors died in the first wave of the pandemic when vaccines weren’t available and 513 in the second wave, many of whom hadn’t received the shot. The IMA states that such claims make it difficult for the frontline workers to carry our vaccination drive, frustrating the government’s efforts.
The IMA wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday asking him to book Ramdev under sedition charges. A R1,000 crore defamation suit was also filed by IMA-Uttarakhand. A protest was organised by doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Delhi. An complaint to lodge FIR had previously been sent by the Delhi Medical Association.
Ramdev had earlier retracted his statement on allopathy after a rap from union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was present at the relaunching ceremony of coronil. The yoga guru, however, later rebuked medical professionals with 25 questions on whether they have cure for disease such as diabetes and heart conditions.