Theni (Kerala): In all, 500 people laid siege to a police station near Andipatti in the Theni district of Kerala demanding the immediate release of Dr Babu (62), a physician, from police custody. The homoeopathic doctor Babu was detained by the police for questioning in connection with a complaint lodged against him.
Someone had filed a complaint against the doctor. The complainant stated that the doctor despite being a homoeopathic practitioner, was prescribing allopathic medicines to patients. For 300 families living at Renkarampatti village near Andipatti, Dr Babu is their messiah. The doctor settled in the village 40 years ago. He was charging a very less fee to treat the patients. Poor villagers flock to him for treatment. During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Babu provided medical assistance to the needy.
A resident of the village, Raghuram, reported to the police that Dr Babu has been prescribing allopathic injections and pills to the patients of the village. Whereas he is a homoeopathic practitioner. Based on the complaint, the police took Dr Babu to Andipatti police station for questioning.
When news of Dr Babu's arrest spread to Renkarampatti village, more than 500 people, young and elderly persons, staged a protest in front of the Andipatti police station. The protesting villagers demanded the immediate release of Dr Babu, who has been providing medical care to the poor for the past 40 years. Andipatti DSP Ramalingam convened a meeting in this regard and also held talks with the agitating villagers.
Villagers said, "Nobody was ever harmed or suffered loss or had medical complications due to the treatment provided by Dr Babu. We were ensured medicines by our physician even when we were without money. Hence, he should be released from the police custody immediately." When the people did not give up their protest, the police were forced to release him from custody. When he came out of the police station, a large crowd was eagerly waiting to greet him. People rejoiced his release. The police released Dr Babu from their custody giving him a warning that he should not prescribe allopathic medicines. Instead, he should focus on homoeopathic medicines.
