Sulekha community - Advice from neighbors and local experts

 Brooksville cardiologist was arrested and given a misdemeanor citation for shoplifting Friday afternoon after he tried to leave a Publix without paying for a bottle of laxative tablets, authorities said. An employee at the store on Spring Hill Drive saw Dr. Lingappa Amarchand remove a bottle of Senokot from the box and place the bottle in his pants pocket, according to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report. Amarchand, X4, paid for other items and tried to leave the store when he was confronted by the employee, the report shows. Amarchand initially denied he had any other merchandise, but then the bottle fell out of his pants leg and "at that time, he admitted ... that he had attempted to steal the item," the report states. Amarchand told a deputy he had money to pay for the laxative, valued at about $29, and apologized. On Monday, however, Amarchand told the Times that he put the bottle in his pocket when his phone rang and forgot that he'd done so. "It was an honest mistake," he said. Amarchand moved to Brooksville in X994 and has an office on De Soto Avenue. He is also a member of the board of directors at Cortez Community Bank.