Several fall ill after taking ‘quack medicine’.

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Kollam: The Eroor police are on the lookout for a quack who allegedly sold fake drugs to several ignorant people, the ToI reported.

After consuming the medicine, several people including children fell ill and were hospitalised with severe symptoms of fever, swelling in the body and itchiness. The Kerala police are yet to find details about the quack who is currently absconding.

The accused, Lakhshman Raj, allegedly claimed to have the cure for all maladies and had been perpetuating the practice upon the ignorant people.

Although many have been reportedly affected by the quack’s medication, the police have identified five people who have been hospitalised. The quack was reportedly charging Rs.500-20000 from each of his patient for the medicine.

Quackery has become big business in India. Lack of strict regulations and big profits have created several dubious clinics and phony practitioners. The quacks with their so-called cures identify the ignorant and lure them with their dangerous potions. While some of these spurious ‘quack medicines’ are mere placebos others are potentially dangerous.

One of Lakshman’s victims is a four-year-old boy named Mohammad Ali who developed fever and rashes all over the body after consuming the medicine. The boy had to be kept on ventilator support for 10 days, said the boy’s father. Tests revealed that the medication supplied by the quack had very high amounts of mercury and beyond the permissible limit.

Based on the complaints received the police have registered a case against Lakhsnam under relevant sections of the IPC.