Bhopal News: Fraud With Patients; Accused Duped Dozen Patients

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Arrested for duping attendants of patients on pretext of providing better treatment and facility at Hamidia Hospital, Jitendra Khagre may have duped around a dozen patients and their kin.

During questioning in police remand, Khagre confessed that he used to impersonate as a doctor to win the trust of patients and their family members.

Police have also recovered audio recordings of phone conversations between the accused and victims, which are now part of the evidence. Police are now probing possible involvement of hospital staff and trying to trace the accused’s wider network.

Cops suspect that within 45 days, the accused duped at least a dozen families using the same modus operandi, collecting from Rs 7,000 and Rs 10,000 from each. He would warn families that immediate online payment was necessary for safe surgery or advanced treatment. After receiving the money, he would stop answering calls.

In one such case, a victim told police that his child had a hole in the heart and was admitted to Hamidia Hospital for treatment. Khagre allegedly met the family inside the hospital posing as a doctor and showed having detailed knowledge about the child’s illness. Promising better treatment, he took Rs 8,000 but child didn’t survive.

It is worth mentioning that Jitendra Khagre was arrested by joint teams of Koh-e-Fiza police and crime branch on the information of Hamidia Hospital administration.

Police said Khagre rarely appeared before patients’ families himself. Instead, he contacted them over phone calls providing treatment updates and pressing for money transfers.

The fraud first came to light after complaints were made to the hospital administration.