Saraswati is sitting next to a hospital bed, weeping for her grandson as the police try to comfort her. The woman is mourning the loss of her 10-year-old grandson who died on Tuesday after allegedly being administered some medicine by a quack in Vijayawada.
“We brought him all the way here hoping he would be able to walk. But he collapsed, bit on his tongue and died after taking the medicine,” Saraswati says in a video, as she grieves for her grandson.
Ten-year-old Harinath was brought by his grandparents to Vijayawada from his village near Proddatur in Kadapa district, after hearing about a ‘doctor’ who claimed to be able to cure the child’s condition. “My younger son, who works in Bengaluru, found out about this man’s treatment on the internet. He told us to go visit him, and said that his medicines would help our child get better,” says Saraswati, whose grandson had been suffering from muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy causes gradual weakness and loss of muscle mass.
Other patients at Andhra hospital after the boy's death
According to the Governorpet police, the family came to know about the quack, Bhumeshwara Rao through a WhatsApp group run by the ‘Amaravathi Muscular Dystrophy Association (AMDA).’
“The group has more than 200 members. It has been active for a long time,” said Sub-Inspector Padmini, who is investigating the case.
Bhumeshwarao Rao, who belongs to Jagtial district in Telangana has had formal education up to Class 7. He had put up a video on YouTube claiming that he had a ‘natural cure’ for muscular dystrophy and other neurological disorders.
“A man called Ramesh from Kadapa, who was a member of the AMDA Whatsapp group, shared his video on the group, vouching for his treatment. That’s how around 12 people ended up coming to Vijayawada to consult him,” Vijayawada South Division ACP Surya Chandra Rao said.
Bhumeshwara Rao, who had offered to provide treatment free of cost, met the patients and the families on Sunday at Gangotri lodge in Governorpet. “Most of the patients were young boys between 9 to 15 years of age. There was also a young man in his early 20s and an older man about 42 years old,” SI Padmini said.
As most of the patients had come from different districts of Andhra Pradesh outside of Vijayawada, they stayed at the lodge where Bhumeshwara Rao began his ‘treatment’ on Monday, giving the children ‘natural’ medicine. “The children were given some tablets on Monday as well. But on Tuesday afternoon, Harinath had an adverse reaction. He had also been suffering from a respiratory disease,” the ACP said.
Saraswathi says that after taking a tablet on Tuesday around 1:30 pm, her grandson began frothing at the mouth, before breathing his last. The grandparents informed the police, who went to the lodge and nabbed Bhumeshwara Rao. The child was brought dead to the hospital.
“We came all the way from Proddatur to an unknown city because they promised that he would walk in 3 months,” rues Saraswati.
There were 11 other children who were administered a similar treatment by the quack. Five of the eleven patients were admitted to the Andhra hospital in Vijayawada, where they had the pills taken out through gastric suction. Police have said that the remaining patients are now out of danger.
A case has been booked against Bhumeshwara Rao under IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence). Police are yet to investigate the involvement of Ramesh and AMDA. The further course of investigation depends on the post mortem reports, police said.