Pharmacist threatens doc for hurting his biz

Police have booked the owner of a medical store and others for threatening to kill a doctor and his family members if he did not shut down his clinic.

Dr Avanish Kumar Singh (33), who had come to the city two years ago and opened a clinic at Mangammanapalya, practises as a general physician. Singh said he had opened Somya Clinic to provide treatment to the poor.

Singh, in his complaint to the police, said that on July 21, around 11.30 am, Suhail, a local medical shop owner, barged into the clinic and downed the shutters. He stopped Singh from working, broke his BP apparatus and abused him, asking him to shut down the clinic.

Singh said he used to charge his patients a nominal fee and even give them medicine, and this affected the business of the medical shop.

On August 1, around 8 pm, Suhail returned with four of his associates and asked Singh to shift his clinic in two days, failing which he and his family would be murdered, the complaint stated.

Meanwhile, the accused complained to the drug control department, alleging Singh was a quack and selling medicines illegally. But the officials concerned visited the clinic and gave Singh a clean chit.

Bandepalya police booked Suhail for assault, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint. They have summoned him for questioning.