The Malad police is on the lookout for a quack Ajay Rajesh Sonawane, a resident of Dharavi, who cheated people to the tune of Rs 5 lakh by posing as an ayurvedic doctor. A few police teams have been dispatched to various areas to look for the quack.
Meanwhile, two agents of this doctor were arrested by the police on February 29, who are now in judicial custody. These two were identified as Suresh Lokhande and Bhujang Dasorjogi, resident of Ahmadnagar, who were the agents of this doctor and used to trap people.
According to police officials, they had received four complaints against the accused and suspect they have indulged in similar crimes in the past too. The police came to know about these accused when an elderly couple Yusuf Kanchwala, (78) and his wife Fatima (55) approached them on February 20.
They informed the police that they had met Lokhande and Dasorjogi at a local mall. The duo saw that they were walking with difficulty, and so approached them and told them about a ‘vaidhya’ who could help them. They told the couple that Sonwane had treated their uncle once. The Kanchwalas were suffering from joint pain and so approached Sonawane immediately who gave them a few medicines and charged them Rs 40,000. He also asked them to cough up Rs 2 lakh more.
Eventually, they paid the Rs 2 lakh more in January after which Sonawane was found to be absconding. After this, the Kanchwala couple realized that it had been cheated by Sonawane. According to a senior police official from Malad, Sonawane just used to mix balm with coconut oil to make it look like an ointment to fool patients. Later, three more people approached the police and said these two agents had approached them and taken them to Sonawane. The quack had taken Rs 80,000 from each of the three complainants, the police said.
According to a Mid-day report, the Malad police have busted a racket of adulterated Ayurveda medicine sale. Though main accused Ajay Sonawane is absconding, they have managed to arrest two men, who worked as agents for Sonawane, and were responsible for luring patients. The gang would mix ash, sand and mud in coconut oil and sell it as a miraculous Ayurvedic cure.
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Accused Ajay Sonawane
According to police sources, the trio had cheated scores of unassuming people and had made good money. The two arrested agents have been identified as Suresh Lokhande, 38, and Bhujang Dasorjogi, 33, both residents of Shrirampur district, Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra.
The police got on its case when a complaint was registered by Goregaon-based couple Yusuf Kanchwala, 78, and wife Phatima, 55. The two claimed they had been cheated of R2.40 lakh by Sonawane, who ran an Ayurveda clinic named Sanjivini Ayurveda Distributer, at Mitesh Apartments on SV Road, Malad (West).
According to police sources, Suresh Lokhande met Yusuf Kaanchwal last year at a mall in Goregaon. After Kaanchwala told him that he and his wife were suffering from joint pain, the accused claimed that Sonawane could heal them. Sonawane took R2.40 lakh and in turn offered the medicine. He wasn’t to be seen after that at the clinic.
Kanchwala lodged a complaint against the duo on February 18 at Malad Police station. According to police officer Hasan Mulani, “Lokhande and Dasorjogi used to strike a conversation with people, and if anyone mentioned an illness, they would refer them to Sonawane. In December, they vacated the clinic and disappeared. Kanchwala tried contacting them. Ever since, more people have registered complaints against the fake centre.”
The police has registered a case against Sonawne and the agents under Section 420 and 34 of IPC, and the Maharashtra Ayurveda Adhiniyam Act 1961.
SOURCE: MID-DAY/ASIAN AGE