Patient dies after injection by Quack, FIR registered

Mumbai: A quack has been booked in Mumbai’s Chembur area after a 42-year-old rickshaw driver died shortly after allegedly receiving treatment and an injection at his clinic. Authorities have confirmed that the accused had no medical qualifications and was illegally practising medicine.

The Chunabhatti police have registered a case following a complaint filed by the victim’s wife, who alleged that the man posing as a doctor not only misled the family but also administered unsafe medical treatment, resulting in her husband’s untimely death.

According to the FIR, the deceased, identified as a resident of Chembur, had undergone a molar extraction at the Lions Club Charitable Trust Hospital on December 7, 2024. Despite the procedure, he continued working the same day. However, by the following afternoon, he began experiencing severe swelling and intense pain near the extraction site.

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The quack reportedly examined the patient, administered an injection near the waist, and gave him oral medication, charging Rs 400 for the treatment.

Shortly after returning home, the patient developed breathing difficulties. When the family rushed him back to the clinic, the doctor allegedly refused to treat him further and advised them to take him elsewhere. The patient was shifted to Sion Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Suspicious about the nature of the treatment, the family approached the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). A probe by the Medical Health Officer of M-West Ward revealed that the doctor was not a registered medical practitioner and held no recognised medical degree.

As per the FIR, the accused posed as a qualified medical professional, thereby cheating the family and endangering public safety. Police have booked him under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating, impersonation, and causing death by negligence, as well as applicable provisions of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act.

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Speaking to TOI, the victim's wife, Sharmiladevi Jha, who lodged the complaint, said her husband was the family's sole breadwinner and that his sudden death has left them devastated. She has demanded strict action against the accused to prevent such tragedies in the future.