Chennai, Dec 20 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu health department has decided to crackdown on quacks posing as doctors and treating gullible patients.

The decision came after a 22-year-old married woman, Jayasri, wife of K. Shanmugham died following excessive bleeding after consuming a medicine provided to her by a medical shop owner. The 22-year-old was two-months pregnant and did not want her family to know of this.

The incident occurred at Panaikulam village in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu when Jayasri approached a medical shop owner, Selvaraj (46) to abort her pregnancy.

The incident occurred on December 15. The quack provided her with a pill and asked her to consume it. Soon after she suffered intense bleeding and was admitted at a private hospital. When the situation worsened, the woman was shifted to the Government Medical college hospital on December 16. However the woman passed away on December 19, at the Government medical college hospital.

The woman on Saturday while being admitted at the Medical college told doctors that she had consumed a pill from the medical store of Selvaraj.

On Sunday a team of Tamil Nadu health department officials led by Joint Director of Medical Services, Dr.Shanthi reached the premises of Selvaraj. The team found that the accused Selvaraj was running an illegal clinic at his pharmacy. An official also told IANS that the raid team from the Medical education department found that Selvaraj had stocked 21 different varieties of medicine at his clinic.

Following the raids at the medical store, the Tamil Nadu health department has taken measures to conduct periodic checks in all the districts of the state against such illegal clinics and quacks prescribing 'medicines' leading to acute medical issues for the patients who consume these drugs prescribed by such people.

The state health department, according to sources, has apprised the state health minister of the issues plaguing the state in terms of quacks practicing masquerading as doctors.