Fake FMGE certificate scam in Chhattisgarh? 3,000 doctors under medical council, NMC, DME scanner

Raipur: A suspected fake Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) certificate scam has come under the scanner as the certificates of over 3000 foreign-trained doctors in Chhattisgarh who obtained their MBBS degrees from countries in Central and East Asia are going to be investigated by the Chhattisgarh Medical Council with the support of the National Medical Commission and the state Directorate of Medical Education.

The investigation has been called after the authorities detected alleged irregularities in their qualifications and in the clearance of the Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) examination.

The FMGE, conducted by the National Board of Examinations, is a mandatory screening test for Indian students who complete their MBBS abroad and want to practice in India.

After clearing the FMGE, such graduates are required to complete a one-year compulsory internship at a recognised government medical college or hospital. They are then granted registration by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for practice in India.

The suspicion came to light after officials found several foreign medical graduates using suspected forged FMGE certificates to secure internships in government hospitals across different states.

Also read- Rajasthan fake FMGE certificate scam: Former medical council registrar among 18 arrested

Medical Dialogues had reported that the Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 18 people, including a former registrar of the Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC), for allegedly helping unqualified candidates with registrations and internships with forged documents.

Among those arrested are the former RMC registrar and the former nodal officer. They were taken into custody along with 15 candidates who had obtained MBBS degrees from abroad but failed to clear the mandatory Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), which is required to practise in India, and thereby obtained fake certificates to practise here.

Additional Director General (SOG) Vishal Bansal alleged that the former RMC registrar is the key accused in the case. The accused used fake FMGE certificates to obtain provisional registrations from the council and secured internships in hospitals, bypassing mandatory verification checks.

Preliminary findings suggest that each candidate paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to be part of the racket. Out of this, around Rs 11 lakh per candidate was allegedly paid to RMC officials and staff, while the rest was shared among middlemen and agents.

In the past year, both the Chhattisgarh Medical Council (CMC) and the National Medical Commission (NMC) noticed serious gaps in the clinical knowledge of some foreign medical graduates during their internships in government hospitals across the state. According to officials, some interns had poor understanding of basic medical subjects, and a few could not even identify commonly used surgical instruments.

Following these revelations, the Chhattisgarh Medical Council (CMC), along with the National Medical Commission (NMC), launched a large-scale verification drive. They will now examine FMGE certificates, mark sheets and internship records of over 3,000 doctors across states.

Speaking to The Hitavada, CMC Vice-President Dr Vivek Choudhary said, "The council has launched a detailed verification exercise with the support of the NMC and the state Directorate of Medical Education. Authorities are currently scrutinising mark sheets, internship records and FMGE certificates of foreign medical graduates across the state as a part of the ongoing investigation."

Registrar of the CMC, Dr Rupal Purohit, said, "The situation is alarming as several graduates had allegedly not attended regular physical classes at their foreign medical institutions for extended periods. In some cases, degrees were reportedly completed largely through online examinations. Even among those who attended classes abroad, attendance levels were found to be extremely poor, with some students reportedly attending lectures only once or twice a week."

Also read- 2 arrested in Fake FMGE certificate scam for medical council internships, 73 more under scanner