Toddler dies after heavy dose of 5 injections in Khandwa:Family says, ‘Child had stomach ache, doctor treated him for pneumonia without tests’

A 1.5-year-old child died allegedly due to the negligence of a quack doctor in Gandhwa village of Khandwa. The family had taken the child to a local clinic after he complained of stomach pain. The quack conducted a general checkup, diagnosed him with pneumonia, and administered five heavy injections. The doctor, identified as Himanshu Yadav, had reportedly returned from Ukraine after leaving his medical studies incomplete and began treating patients in the village. Locals said this was not the first such incident — three years ago, a young woman had also died due to his wrong treatment. Family alleges wrong treatment The child’s father, Labu Barela, said that a relative advised them to visit Dr. Himanshu Yadav in Gandhwa on Thursday. The doctor had set up a mini hospital in a small shop. After checking the child, Himanshu claimed that he had pneumonia and that the treatment would take 5 days, asking them to return daily. He first administered a small saline and then injected five medicines through a larger saline bottle. Shortly after the treatment, the child’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly. When the family tried to contact the doctor, he was not present at the clinic. His wife allegedly told them to take the child home and threatened to call the police if they caused a disturbance. The child’s condition worsened further, and an argument broke out between the doctor’s family and the child’s relatives. Complaint ignored at police post Following the incident, the child’s father went to the nearby police post to file a complaint but claimed that officials did not take any action. Later, a formal complaint was lodged at the Piplod police station, after which the child’s body was sent to the district hospital for postmortem. The postmortem was conducted on Friday. Dropped medical studies in Ukraine According to villagers, quack Himanshu Yadav often claimed to have studied medicine abroad but returned to India after the Russia-Ukraine war began, leaving his studies incomplete. His father, Ganesh Yadav, works as a dresser in a government dispensary in Gandhwa. Together with his wife, Himanshu had opened a small clinic styled as a mini hospital in the village, where they treated patients without any formal license or registration. Earlier case of wrong treatment Villagers said Himanshu had been practicing since the lockdown period. About 3 years ago, he had allegedly administered a wrong injection to a village girl named Pratibha Patidar, who was preparing for the PAT exam. The young woman died during treatment, leading to outrage in the area. However, the matter was later settled privately between the quack and the victim’s family. Health dept’s response Pandhana Block Medical Officer (BMO) Omprakash Tantwar said that registration for private clinics is done at the district level, so detailed information about Himanshu’s setup was not available. Tantwar said, Ganesh Yadav is a dresser at the government health center in Gandhwa. Neither he nor his son have any clinic registration. There are many unregistered practitioners in the area, and action is being taken against them one by one. Question over pneumonia diagnosis Experts have questioned how the quack diagnosed pneumonia without any tests. Normally, doctors use a stethoscope to listen to heart, lung, and intestinal sounds, but an X-ray is essential to confirm pneumonia. In this case, Himanshu diagnosed the child merely through a general checkup and gave him multiple heavy injections, despite the child being brought in for stomach pain. Police have registered a case after receiving the family’s complaint. The investigation is ongoing. ​