The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has finally registered an offence against the bogus doctor who had managed to secure a contractual job at the government’s healthcare facility to treat Covid-19 patients.
The FIR was registered by medical officer- Dr. Tejaswini Lanjekar following directions from additional civic chief-Dr. Sambhaji Panpatte. The accused who has been identified as- Hemant Patil alias Hemant Sonwavane was posted as a doctor at the dedicated covid hospital in Bhayandar on 20, April-2020 for a period of more than six months before he was sacked on 9, November-2020 for unsatisfactory performance. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under the relevant sections of the IPC for cheating by impersonation, forgery and section 33 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961 which prohibits medical practice by unregistered practitioners. However, action eludes officials who were responsible for appointing the bogus doctor sans verification. MNS leader- Sandip Rane has demanded action against the recruiters for putting the lives of innocent patients at risk by appointing a quack. “We recruited medicos during an emergency situation when the pandemic was at its peak, not giving us enough time for verification. However, from now on a proper mechanism will verify authenticity of qualification and other documents before going ahead with recruitment's.” said Dr. Panpatte.
Already, cooling his heels in jail after he was caught by the Vasai police for running a clinic on the virtue of fake degrees, the quack has also been charged for molesting women including a social worker in Bhayandar.
Taking serious note of quacks who can become a reason for a patient's death due to negligence, the Lokayukta had recently sought an action taken report from civic bodies. However, the MBMC not only shied away from taking action against them since 2017, but instead sprung a surprise by appointing a quack to treat patients in its own hospital. There are 207 private hospitals and more than 880 clinics in the twin-city. However, the presence of quacks - especially in slum clusters are going unnoticed.
