Bogus doctors to be weeded out

MUMBAI, MARCH 24: Minister for Public Health Digvijay Khanvilkar, on Friday, told the Legislative Assembly that there were 493 bogus doctors in the State and that a special drive would be launched against them soon.

Replying to a calling attention motion moved by Hasan Mushrif, the minister said that the government had prosecuted 426 out of the 493 bogus doctors found in the State and the cases were pending in the court. He said that aspecial committees had been formed at district, tehsil, corporation and municipal council levels on February 7, 2000 to tackle the issue and that a special drive would be undertaken to curb practice by bogus doctors.

He pointed out that in most of the cases, the accused got certificates or degrees from other states and started practising in Maharashtra. He said that all the District Collectors, Superintendents of Police have been asked to take strict action against bogus doctors found in their districts.

The minister said that the committees had been asked to take action as per provisions in the Magic Remedies’ Act, prosecute quarks, pursue the cases in court and create awareness among the public about genuine medical systems.