Health Department withdraws renewal certificate issued to quack to run clinic in Tirupattur

JDHS in Tirupattur revokes renewal certificate issued to quack, files complaint with police. Collector orders inquiry after certificate, picture of quack go viral on social media. JDHS admits to signing 50 certificates at once, including quack's, realising mistake later.

The Joint Director of Health Services (JDHS) in Tirupattur on Tuesday has withdrawn the renewal certificate issued to a quack to run his illegal clinic two months ago.

Health officials said that after revoking the certificate, the Joint Director also filed a complaint against the quack with the Tirupattur Town police on Tuesday.

This comes after Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the allegations of a quack being issued renewal certificate to run his clinic by JDHS two months ago.

M. Sampath, 35, applied for renewal at JDHS (Chennai) online in 2020. Along with other applications, Sampath’s application was also sent to the JDHS office in Vellore to be issued renewal certificate after verification. After trifurcation of Vellore district, a separate office for JDHS in Tirupattur was formed in March 2022. Subsequently, 127 applications,. including Sampath’s, were issued renewal. “As the new office had fewer staff, I had to handle voluminous work. I signed 50 certificates including Sampath’s form at one go. However, I realised the mistake later and got back the certificate,” K. Marimuthu, JDHS (Tirupattur), told The Hindu. 

The renewal certificate, which contains the seal and signature of the JDHS (Tirupattur), K. Marimuthu, was allegedly issued to Lithya Sree Primary Health care Centre in Dhamalarimuthur village near Jolarpet town as a single practitioner registered under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments (Regularation) Act, 1997, to provide allopathic services with no beds on May 27.

The certificate also mentions that the renewal is valid up to May 26, 2028. The centre was run by M. Sampath, a quack in the village. A copy of the certificate is available with The Hindu. After the incident came to light on Sunday, the renewal certificate and the picture of the quack went viral on social media platforms, resulting in public outrage.