Baba Ramdev may face legal music for his 'cancer cure'

and self-styled healer Baba Ramdev may soon be in trouble for claiming to cure cancer and HIV, apart from other diseases, with yoga and concoctions marketed by his pharmacy.
In a significant move, all state medical councils have united to act against the likes of Ramdev who have been claiming cure for diseases in televised discourses and through other means.
At a meeting held over the weekend in the Capital, state medical councils passed a resolution asking the Drug Controller General of India to book all those claiming magical cures under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act of 1954.
The Act prohibits any individual or company from claiming to cure diseases such as cancer and conditions like diabetes and obesity in their advertisements.
Several speakers at the meeting pointed out that Ramdev had been giving sponsored programmes on television and claiming to cure all such diseases listed in the Act.
Representatives of 22 state medical councils participated in the two-day meeting, hosted by the Delhi Medical Council, to discuss issues of common interest, including ethics in medical practice and quackery.
Registration of doctors and regulation of medical profession is a major function of state medical councils. But only the drug controller is empowered to initiate legal action against violators of the law against magical remedies.
The meeting suggested several measures to combat the growing menace of quackery. It was suggested that the punishment for those who practice medicine without any qualified degrees should be enhanced under the Indian Medical Council Act.
Under the law, those not trained in one system of medicine are not supposed to practice any other system of medicine.
Ramdev has been promoting cancer cure through television programmes and a video titled 'Yog cancer ke liye', being sold through his website.
In the hour-long video, also posted on the website YouTube, Ramdev claims he has been able to cure several types of cancer, including brain tumours, with a concoction of wheat grass juice, tulsi and leaves.
"You can consume 10 to 50 ml of this juice. Start on this if there is no improvement with chemotherapy or radiation. Consume as much as you can digest. There is no side effect of this juice. With this treatment, we have seen that blood cancer can be cured.
"I am telling you this because we have data and have also published results of our research," Ramdev tells his followers in the video. Along with wheat grass, he also recommends a daily regimen of pranayam for cancer treatment.
After a government servant died a few years ago because of excessive intake of bitter gourd (lauki) juice, as suggested by Ramdev, an expert panel set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research had warned people against consuming this juice.
Apart from Ramdev, the representatives of several states also pointed to the case of Jatin Chaudhry, who claims to be the physiotherapist of cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
The councils resolved to crack down against physiotherapists who use the Dr prefix, which according to a health ministry directive of 2003, can be used only by those practicing allopathy or recognised Indian systems of medicine such as Ayurveda and Unani.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/baba-ramdev-vs-state-medical-councils-cancer-cure-yoga/1/174863.html

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/baba-ramdev-vs-state-medical-councils-cancer-cure-yoga/1/174863.html

 

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Midnight crackdown: SC raps Baba Ramdev, Delhi police

The Supreme Court on Thursday castigated the Delhi Police and yoga guru Ramdev for the midnight violent incident at the Ramlila Maidan last year and said it was a "glaring example of trust deficit" between the people and the government.
A bench of justice BS Chauhan and justice SwatanterKumar said that incident showed might of the state which struck at the foundation of democracy.

The bench further observed that the police and the state could have avoided that tragic incident in which one person died and several others were injured.
"It is a glaring example of trust deficit between the people governing and the people being governed," the bench said, adding that police action is meant to bring peace but they breached peace themselves.
The apex court blamed both Ramdev and the Delhi Police for the midnight crackdown at Ramlila Maidan last year and directed criminal prosecution of police personnel and Ramdev's supporters who had behaved violently during the incident.
The bench, however, said that the cops had assaulted sleeping victims and the police and the state could have avoided the violent incident.
There was abuse of power by the Delhi Police and fundamental rights of people were violated, the bench said.
The court awarded a compensation of Rs five lakh for the family members of Raj Bala, who had died in the incident.
The bench also awarded a compensation of Rs 50,000 for those who suffered grievous injuries in the incident and Rs 25,000 for those with simple injuries.
The apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of media reports showing brutality of police action against the sleeping followers of Ramdev, including women and children at Ramlila Maidan on the midnight of June 4-5 last year during his anti-corruption agitation.
The bench had reserved the verdict on January 20.
Ramdev had alleged that the police action was carried out on the instructions of their political masters and demanded action against all people who had directed the crackdown.
Ramdev was agitating along with his followers against corruption and demanding that the UPA government must make sincere efforts to bring back black money illegally parked in foreign bank accounts by tax evaders.
The Delhi Police, however, claimed Ramdev had instigated his followers to indulge in violence, forcing the police to act at that time of the night.

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