H.D. Kote: Two days after a 21-year-old girl succumbed to infection following an injection administered by a doctor at Hampapura in H.D. Kote, the H.D. Kote Police have booked a suo-moto case against the doctor, allegedly a quack.

The doctor, identified as Dr. Raju, is on the run now and he has vacated the clinic at Hampapura and has even removed the clinic’s signboard. The H.D. Kote Police have registered a criminal case under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

It may be recalled here that Ankusha from Kalihundi village of Hampapura hobli died after Dr. Raju administered an injection to her thighs following severe fever. The place where she was injected became a lump and puss started oozing out. She was shifted to a private hospital in Mysuru and she died on Nov. 13 as her condition turned critical and failed to respond to the treatment.

Sources said that Ankusha’s parents did not lodge a Police complaint and went ahead and cremated her after the doctor promised compensation.

But the H.D. Kote Police voluntarily took up the case after media published reports of Ankusha’s death.

Alerted by the reports, Mysuru District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. B. Basavaraju said that based on his directives, the H.D. Kote Taluk Health Officer Dr. Ravi raided five clinics run by quacks and have sealed them.

The DHO said that as per the present Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act, there is no provision to legally deal with quacks.

Dr. Basavaraju said that there were reports that Dr. Raju was a quack and action would be taken against him once the Taluk Health Officer submits a report.

“We have warned quacks that criminal cases will be booked against them if they continued their illegal practice,” Dr. Basavaraju said and added that people can approach the Police in case they come across quacks.

Tahsildar Nanjundaiah, H.D. Kote Circle Inspector Harish, Sub-Inspector V.C. Ashok and team participated in the raid and closed down Durga Clinic in Saragur run by Dr. Chaitra who had only Ayurvedic practitioner licence, Sanchita Clinic run by one Dr. Vikas at Hampapura, Health Day Care Clinic run by Dr. H.B. Ramachandra and Dr. Madhusudhan and Mathrushree Clinic run by Dr. Ramachandra.

Rush at PHC

As many private clinics have now been shut, villagers are visiting Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Hampapura for treatment where only one Doctor by name Dr. Ranjitha is serving at present.