Quack poses as Radiologist for 2 years using Rs 50 lakh fake degree

Agra: While many invest years of rigorous study, dedication, hard work and significant financial resources to become qualified doctors, a man from Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district was arrested for allegedly impersonating as a radiologist at a private a ultrasound centre in Mainpuri for the past two years using a fake medical degree he reportedly purchased for over Rs 50 lakh.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to purchasing the fake degrees for several lakhs, exposing his fraudulent identity to numerous patients who had undergone various tests under his care. His misdiagnoses might have posed serious health risks to these patients.

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The incident came to light in May when his degree was sent for verification to a university in Madhya Pradesh, and it was discovered that he was not registered with the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council. Apart from that, his degree was also fake.

This comes when a staff member at the ultrasound centre, while in the registration renewal process, became suspicious of the accused's credentials. A separate complaint was also received on Aug 4 from a man alleging that the doctor working at the centre was a fraud.

Acting on these findings, the nodal officer, Dr Surendra Singh from the chief medical officer (CMO) office, launched an investigation and confirmed the allegations. Following this, they handed over the case to the police, who booked the accused under BNS sections 318/4 (cheating), 338 (forgery), 336/3 (intent to use a forged document), 340/2 (fraudulent use of a forged document), as well as sections 23 and 25 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

Speaking on this, RC Gupta, chief medical officer (CMO), told TOI, "During interrogation, the accused admitted to purchasing the fake degrees for lakhs. He allegedly conducted thousands of ultrasound tests without valid qualifications."

Medical Dialogues recently reported that for the past 10 years, a man from Assam’s Sribhumi district had been impersonating an obstetrician and gynaecologist, defrauding patients, assisting in around 50 cesarean sections and other gynaecological surgeries, and handling several pregnancy cases at a private hospital in Silchar since 2016. The accused was arrested in connection with the fraud.

He had previously worked as a fourth-grade employee in various hospitals. After gaining some basic knowledge, he decided to pose as a doctor using forged documents and purchased a fake MBBS degree from the black market by paying a large sum to a degree-selling racket.

Also read- Quack arrested for posing as Gynaecologist for 10 years