Mumbai Crime: ‘I spent Rs 1 lakh on cancer quack’s bhasmas’

middayrsquos frontpage exposeacute on a gang of crooks preying upon emotionally vulnerable families of cancer patients has attracted police attention with the Zone 5 DCP on Monday deputing a team to investigate the racket Some victims also came forward and told midday how ringleader Krishna Patil fooled them into buying the lsquoayurvedic treatmentrsquo for lakhs of rupeesDeputy Commissioner of Police Zone 4 Dr Pravin Mundhe said ldquoI have deputed one team to conduct enquiry into the matter after reading the article in midday We will also be in touch with the reporters who have brought this matter into the public domainrdquomidday has also learnt that Krishna Patil the mastermind running the racket with his henchmen has been operating at least since 2009 After seeing middayrsquos report and the photographs published along with it Melwyn DrsquoSilva 43 from Matheran contacted the correspondentsThe bill of medicines bought by a woman who met a crook in a mall right midday reporters with Krishna Patil the mastermindNarrating his interaction with Patil DrsquoSilva said ldquoIt was during 20092010 when I was at a hospital in Andheri for the treatment of his son who has Down syndrome This same man Krishna Patil had approached my wife with a list of items also published in midday He asked her to buy all the items and then visited my house to prepare the ayurvedic concoctionrdquo said DrsquoSilva who lived in Powai thenAlso read Gang of quacks runs amok in Mumbai cancer hospitalsldquoWe were then asked to go to Dadar to buy bhasma He did not disclose the price and instead kept telling us our childrsquos life is precious Since he had promised that my son would be cured I went to Dadar with my pastorldquoKrishna Patil took us to an ayurvedic shop where he mixed bhasma of silver gold diamond etc in the concoction The bhasma was very expensive so I had to borrow money from my relatives friends and even the pastor I spent over Rs 1 lakhrdquo DrsquoSilva saidMelwyn DrsquoSilva said he could not lodge a complaint as hersquos occupied with the care of his child who has Down syndromeHe said Patil visited his house in Powai to apply the mixture on my childrsquos body ldquoAfter a few minutes of application my son would get restlessness But we thought this would cure him and continued the treatment for a few days We stopped four months later as there was no improvement in his healthrdquo he addedDrsquoSilva further added ldquoMy family and relatives who lent me money have stopped talking to me because I could not pay them back Krishna Patil cheated us I could not register any complaint against him because I am fully occupied in taking care of my sonrdquoDown syndrome is a genetic disorder causing physical and mental challenges for people born with it The condition causes developmental delays according to the US CDCKrishna has now expanded his network and appointed his agents at top cancer hospitals targeting affluent families A few victims have lodged complaints against the accused in Mumbai Thane and Navi MumbaiComplaint in 2016In September 2016 Naupada police in Thane registered an FIR against four people Krishna Patil Hanumath Golhar Dipak Golhar and Shobha all residents of Wagle Estate They had sold the lsquoayurvedic treatmentrsquo to a 54yearold businessman whose daughter suffered from skin infectionThey took Rs 90000 from the man for the ldquoayurvedic treatmentrdquo and took him to Neelkanth Ayurvedic Charai shop in Thane to buy the ingredientsHe had lodged a complaint upon realising that he had cheated but they settled after the accused gave him his money back Last week midday went to Naupada police station to get the details of the case and match the photograph of Krishna Patil but the cops said the accused were not arrested as the complainant had withdrawn the FIRComplaint in 2017In 2017 the Meghwadi police in Jogeshwari filed an FIR against the accused for cheating the family of a 58yearold man who was on dialysisThe deceased manrsquos sisterinlaw told midday ldquoBoth the kidneys of brotherinlaw had failed and he was on dialysis On March 13 an unknown person approached us and told us that his brother also suffered from the same but an ayurvedic concoction permanently cured himrdquoThe man put them in touch with someone who asked to make a paste just like Krishna Patil asks othersldquoThe person took us to an ayurvedic store in Malad added Ayurvedic medicine and took around Rs 25 lakh from us A few days after applying the concoction my brotherinlaw developed an infection Doctors told us not to apply any kind of medicines or oil as itrsquos harmful for a patient on dialysis We then approached Meghwadi police who filed an FIR against the accused identified as Swami Ayyappa Shikrerdquo she said ldquoI lost my brotherinlaw in 2018 We want the death penalty for the accused for playing with innocent patientsrsquo livesrdquoPolice arrested Ayyappa under Sections 420 cheating and 34 common intention of the Indian Penal CodeActive in malls tooAnother victim told midday about her interaction with such people in a mall in Lower Parel in 2011 They were offering treatment for vitiligomdasha disease causing loss of skin colour She was in the mall with a relativersquos child who suffers from vitiligo when a woman approached themThe con woman claimed a mixture of ayurvedic medicines had cured her sisterrsquos vitiligo Convinced the childrsquos family spent Rs 140 lakh There is no cure for vitiligoldquoThe woman visited our house and prepared the same oil which midday published in the article Then she took us to an ayurvedic shop and we met two other people The shopkeeper knew this woman They added some ayurvedic medicine in the oil and gave it to us They said it was expensive because the ingredients were originalldquoWe applied this for months but nothing changed We visited the ayurvedic store but it was closed The womanrsquos number was also switched off After reading the middayrsquos article I realised they cheated me Thank you for exposing these fraudstersrdquo she addedlsquoDo you have any proofrsquomidday reporter Diwakar Sharma called Krishna Patil on Monday after the exposeacute appeared in the newspaper to ask how long he had been operating his scam ldquoWho told you that I have been cheating people There are hundreds of Krishna Patils This name is very commonrdquo He claims to work at MantralayaThe conversationReporter In which department of Mantralaya do you workKrishna Whorsquos thisReporter I am Diwakar Sharma a journalist with middayKrishna Yes tell me whatrsquos the problem Why have you calledReporter You have been taking people to ayurvedic shops for curing cancer rightKrishna What I donrsquot sell anything suchReporter But you have been brazenly duping people of lakhs of rupeesKrishna No no I donrsquot sell any medicine I only give them solutionReporter Since when you have been duping gullible peopleKrishna What are you talking aboutReporter You have been telling people that bhasma ash and other herbal materials will permanently cure cancer if applied for 622 days You take people to ayurvedic shops to buy the bhasmaKrishna One of my relatives suffering from cancer was cured after using the same medicine I donrsquot sell these medicinesReporter Which relativeKrishna Do you want me to send you the medical file of my relativeReporter Yes please Also have you ever been booked or arrested in a cheating case How many cases are registered against youKrishna Excuse me Where will you meet me nowReporter I am in Bandra We are filing a story today We had met you in Dadar a few days back Do you rememberKrishna Yes we met but you did not purchase the medicine and now you are talking rubbish he hands over the phone to another person who claims to be a local politician in VashiKrishna back on the phone You are accusing me of cheating people I have never been arrested What kind of complaint will you register against me Do you have any proof There are more than 200 Krishna Patils He disconnects the call