3 men arrested for cheating people on pretext of curing cancer, AIDS

Three men were arrested for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of curing deadly diseases like cancer and AIDS by administering 'desi' medicines, which were actually adulterated ones, including Delhi, the police said today.

The accused were identified as Mujamil (34), Ravi Yallappa (38) and Manoj Govind Shirke (34), they said.

The victim alleged that his one-and-a-half year old son was suffering from jaundice and was undergoing treatment in AIIMS. He had spent around Rs 2 lakh but there was no improvement in his son's health, the police said.

On August 27, a person named Arjun suggested the victim that his son's disease could be cured by ayurvedic medicines. Arjun took him to a shop in Vardhman Plaza on Delhi's Asaf Ali Road.

Three persons were running the shop and one of them claimed to be a doctor. The "doctor" checked his son in a hurry and gave a "Bhasm" in a steel box. He assured the victim that his son will be completely cured if he takes the medicine for next four months, said Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).

The accused demanded Rs 65,000 and the complainant paid them the money. When he disclosed the incident to his wife, she raised doubt over the cost of medicine and period of treatment following which the victim filed a complaint and a case was registered, Randhawa said.

Yesterday, a police team conducted a raid at Vardhman Plaza and the three accused were nabbed. The cheated money and a cheque given by another victim were recovered from their possession. Copies of cash memos were also recovered at their instance, the officer said.

During interrogation, the accused confessed they cheated people on the pretext of curing incurable diseases with the help of desi medicines in multiple cities including Delhi, Surat, Vadodara, Pune and Indore.

The accused operated in a planned and organised manner. First, they used to arrange a rented office without providing any documents to the property owner and converted it into an Ayurvedic medicine shop, said the officer.

Then, they deputed their agents in hospitals like AIIMS, Ganga Ram, Max and religious places including temples and Gurudwaras to lure people whose relative or family members were suffering from diseases like cancer, AIDS, heart etc, the senior officer added.

The agents brought the patients and their relatives to their shop where the victims were cheated of lakhs of rupees depending upon their economic condition. The accused also assured the victims if their relatives did not find relief from the treatment within four months, the entire amount would be refunded, the DCP said.

Mujamil used to impersonate a doctor, while Manoj posed as the owner of Ayurvedic Bhandar and Yallapa used to brainwash patients and their relatives. They operated for a maximum period of two-three months and escaped from the city before the victims returned to their shop to make any complaint, he said.

Yallapa is previously involved in a case of cheating with similar modus operandi in Hyderabad, Telangana. A thorough investigation is being done to discover all facts and the incidents of interstate cheating committed by the accused persons, he added.