A quack's last cruel joke: A house called virus

[Guest guest]

A quack's last cruel joke: a house called virus

INDIAN EXPRESS: THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 27, GLIVESTER ASSARY

When she was dying of AIDS, everyone knew. The floodlights were turned on her.

Then came this ayurvedic doctor, peddling his 'miracle' cure. It looked as if

she had indeed been cured and she faded from public memory. Last week she died,

and no one knew. The floodlights had since then been turned on the doctor who

has become a celebrity and lives in a Rs 5 -cr mansion called Virus, in the

heart of Kochi.

In a state, which boasts of the highest rate of literacy in the country, this is

indeed an ironical contrast. A doctor turns into a celebrity though the cure for

AIDS remains as elusive as ever. Even as his patient wastes away, heading for

sure death, he thumbs his nose at the authorities for canceling his license and

attracts more of the gullible, ending up at the top of the list of income-tax

payers.

AIDS victim Chitra's story began in 1990 when she married Soman, a Mumbai-based

tyre retreading shop owner. Six months later, while returning to Kerala with his

wife-who was now carrying a child-Soman developed high fever. He tested HIV

positive and died after a two-year battle with the disease. Chitra had,

meanwhile, given birth to a girl and both mother and child tested positive.

Shunned by neighbors, relatives and friends, she took refuge at her sister's

house but there was no end to her misery. It was at the point that the media

stepped in and generated a wave of sympathy in her favor.

Then a Kochi-based mining engineer-turned-ayurvedic practitioner Tamtan Abdul

Majeed made the stunning claim that he had a cure for AIDS. Chitra was given

45-day course of 'the wonder drug', Immuno QR, developed by him. And, to the

surprise of everybody, she tested negative.

Despite doubts about Majeed's claims and credentials, people started flocking to

him and business flourished. The Union Health Ministry, then headed by Renuka

Chowdhury, for once moved quickly to order a cancellation of Majeed's license in

1997. This, however, could not dent his popularity.

His escape route was the provision that no license is required to market a

herbal formulation. Except her four vital ingredients of his drug, he has named

all the others. Reacting to the allegation that he is using harmful steroids,

Majeed says, " Most of the allopathic medicines contain varying percentage of

harmful steroids. "

Last year Majeed spent Rs 70 lakh on advertisements and Rs 5 crore on his new

dream house with the unusual name. And he topped the list of income-tax payer in

the state in 2000-2001 with Rs 1..28 crore.

And were did Chitra vanish? Once declared safe, she married an electrician, Anil

Kumar, in 1997, and gave a birth to a boy. On July 18 she passed away unnoticed.

Even the cremation held at a distant relative's place was kept a closely guarded

secret.

It was only after her death that her pain and agony during her last days came to

light. She suffered from excruciating pain; she had lost her appetite and was

losing weight; and tuberculosis was gnawing at her frail frame, keeping her in

bed.

As her native place Kilimanoor, 35 km from here, locked doors greeted us. Majeed

says she died due to some infection related to bones. Her husband and relatives

have said that she died of " bone TB " . Let no one dispute that.

____________________________________

Dr. Jagdish Harsh

Assistant Director

François-Xavier Bagnoud (INDIA)

161, Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh-II

New Delhi-110 021, INDIA

Phone: +91.11.6111793-94; Telefax: +91.11.410 7381

Email: fxbindia@...; Web: http://www.fxb.org/india.htm

__________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

What is one to do about majid?

in Sangli he has a huge hording advertising immuno- q- r and has given

his new add as in Thane. We have another person selling Hutone -5 as

a wonder drug which has proved to cure AIDS. the claim is that western

blot positive cases have turned negative.

We in SANGRAM/VAMP managed to get the press to publish our press note,

after which the Food and Drugs walas came and sealed the sangli office

and confisticated the material available with the drug samples.

But the offices in Mumbai/Thane, Belgaum, Kolhapur are still functioning.

The Hutone-5 advertisement cost them 5 lakhs in the daily Pudhari. Where

is this money comming from? Who are the people producing Hutone -5 is

not known. can any one in Thane help??

In solidarity,

Meena saraswathi seshu

E-mail: <meena@...>