A quack doctor, who allegedly locked up a drug inspector in a room for seizing spurious injectable vials of Kenacort injection from his clinic, was later arrested from another clinic by the police of Adimali in Idukki district in Kerala.
The quack doctor, a resident of Kattappana was running a clinic at Cheruthoni and was selling re-labelled version of Kenacort injection vials to the public declaring that it was a German remedy for chronic asthma and other lung diseases.
While re-labelling, the quack doctor has changed the name of the medicine as 'Asthai-1-100000', with a German company's address pasted on the packet. Acting on a tip off, the drug inspector of Idukki, A Saju, has raided the quack doctor's clinic at Cheruthoni in the district and confiscated spurious Kenacort injection vials worth Rs 15,000. When the samples of the seized items were later sent for testing, it was found that the injection vials contained high doses of steroid, Saju told Pharmabiz.
Kenacort injection was previously a product of Nicholas Piramal, vials of which were collected by the quack and re-labelled it after changing the name. The content of one vial was poured into two or three other vials adding steroids and they were sent for sale through his clinic and agents, said the drug inspector.
Following the seizure, the fake doctor, who had marked his name in the board as 'Dr Kottarathil Raman Nair', picked a quarrel with the investigating officer, and in the end of the altercation he came out of the clinic and bolted the room from outside. Later, police from Idukki have reached the place and rescued the officer from the locked room. Meanwhile, the quack doctor had escaped from the place. The office of the drug inspector in Idukki has registered a case of spurious drugs against the fake doctor under Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
A few days later, the quack was again found selling the same drugs at Adimali and on information the Circle Inspector of Adimali has taken him into custody. The police have registered a case against him for cheating.
The drug control authorities have seized two lakh of printed labels supposed to paste on the packets and 150 relabelled vials from his clinic in Adimali. The drug inspector said the bogus doctor was deceiving the public after putting up a board before his clinic that he was specialized in treating allergy and asthma with German remedies. The confiscated materials and documents were produced in the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court in Adimali.