Woman impersonates Medanta doctor, promises Rs 3 crore for kidney donation; booked

Gurugram: A case of alleged medical fraud has come to light after an unidentified person impersonated a doctor from Medanta - The Medicity hospital in Gurugram and attempted to lure people by offering a huge sum of money for kidney donation.

According to the police, the accused posed as a doctor working at Medanta and promised Rs 3 crore in exchange for donating a kidney for transplant. She introduced herself as "Dr Priya Santosh".

An FIR was registered at the Sadar police station based on a complaint from Dr Sanjay Durani, the medical superintendent at Medanta.

The matter came to the hospital’s notice after a woman, who was contacted by the accused, emailed Medanta on January 14 to verify the claim.

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During verification, the hospital authorities discovered that the accused had shared a forged identity card with a fake employee code to deceive the woman into believing she was associated with the hospital.

Initially, the accused asked the woman for Rs 8,000 for registration, followed by Rs 20,000 to process an advance payment of Rs 3 crore. However, the accused again demanded Rs 10,000 from the woman for the purpose of buying a kidney.

After the hospital cross-checked the matter, Medanta hospital superintendent Dr Sanjay Durani lodged an FIR at the Gurugram Sadar police station on Tuesday. The case has been registered against unknown persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, impersonation, forgery and damage to reputation, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

"The impersonator also edited webpages of Medanta and shared the distorted content with the victim to falsely show that the hospital legally purchased organs from donors by paying large sums", police said.

A Medanta spokesperson told HT, "The hospital does not indulge in or operate any platform involved in illegal organ trade. Dr Priya Santosh is not employed by nor associated with Medanta Hospital in any manner."

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said an investigation is underway. “We are trying to trace the suspect. Arrest will be made soon,” he said.

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