Pune Crime: Homeopath booked for prescribing cough syrup

With the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Commissioner cracking the whip on quacks in the city, a 36-year-old homeopath was booked by the Wanawadi police for prescribing a cough syrup to a patient yesterday.

The incident came to light when PMC medical officer, Ganesh Jagdale, lodged a complaint against Madhukar Watkar, a resident of Hadapsar for illegally prescribing a cough syrup to a patient in his presence.

A case has been registered under the relevant section of Indian Penal Code for cheating and also under the relevant provision of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961.

Medical officer, Jagdale, who has been on the lookout for those practicing medicine without a proper licence, told mid-day, “Since September, we have been carrying out raids and inspecting various clinics and hospitals to understand and gain information about doctors practicing in the city. We are checking their degrees and registration details. We had received a tip-off about Watkar, a BEMS (Bachelor of Electrohomeopathy Medicine and Surgery) degree holder who was running a clinic in a complex.”

Inspector B N Kale, in-charge of Wanawadi police station, said, “Watkar was running a clinic named Manohar Clinic in Ramnagar area for the past two years. He prescribed an allopathic cough syrup to a patient. The investigation team revealed that he does not have the licence to prescribe allopathic medicines as he has a BEMS degree.”