Mumbai: Fake doctor held for practicing in Malad, prescribing Ayurvedic meds

The Dindoshi Police on Wednesday arrested a 34-year-old college dropout who was posing as an Ayurvedic doctor and practicing at a Malad-based clinic.

The arrest was made as a part of a joint operation by the Dindoshi Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s P/North Ward.

According to the police, the arrested accused, identified as Sukesh Gupta, had been practicing in the Shivshahi area for four years. The civic body had been verifying the qualifications of the doctors in their jurisdiction after they got lead on bogus doctors practicing with fake degrees.

The officials learnt that Gupta had dropped out of college in Class 12 and was seeing patients from the Shivshahi area and prescribing medicines to the people.

A police official said that Gupta was given a warning and had shut down his clinic, only to reopen after six months. After a complaint was lodged by the BMC official, a raid was conducted at Gupta's clinic and he was arrested.

Police seized medicines and equipment from his clinic and subsequently booked him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act.

The primary probe revealed that Gupta had put up a Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine, and Surgery (BAMS) degree certificate at his clinic. An investigation is underway to ascertain where he acquired the said degree from, said police.