Surat Fake Doctor Scam: Police Arrest People Who ‘Surge on People’ Without Any Medical Degree

In a major crackdown on unauthorized medical practice, the Surat police have arrested two people who were falsely posing as doctors and providing medical care without proper qualifications. The suspects, identified as Lalita Kripa Shankar Singh and Prayag Ramchandra Prasad, were discovered by the managers of a clinic in the city where they were prescribing allopathic medicines to patients.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Singh Gurjar said Lalitha, who completed her education up to Class 12, and Prayag, who completed only Class 10, were detained during an investigation that revealed they did not have valid medical degrees or certificates. The authorities seized various medicines and important documents from their clinic for further examination.

The arrests were made by the Umra police station in conjunction with the local health department as part of an ongoing initiative to eliminate fake doctors from the city.

Authorities are now investigating the length of their employment and the extent of their fraudulent medical practice. Currently, a criminal case is being conducted against both persons.

Not the first time

Earlier this month, the Pandesara police busted a fake doctorate scheme that ran for almost two decades, leading to the arrest of 14 people, including two masterminds of the scheme. This operation allegedly allowed at least 1,500 people to work as unqualified doctors.

As reported by Time of India, the main suspects, Dr. B. K. Rawat and Dr Rasesh Gujarati from Ahmedabad, issued fake Bachelor of Electro Homeopathic Medicine (BEMS) degrees, charging around Rs 75,000 each. Initial investigations reveal that they earned over Rs 10 crore from their illegal activities. Dr. Rawat holds Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) while Dr. Gujarati holds Diploma in Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (DHMS) and is affiliated with a hospital in Surat.

The racket was exposed when the police found unqualified practitioners running three clinics — Kavita Clinic, Prince Clinic and Shreyan Clinic — in Pandesar. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-4) Vijaysinh Gurjar said, “After examining the credentials of these doctors, we found that they have obtained their BEMS degrees from Dr. Rasesh Gujarati. These degrees were awarded by the defunct “Council of Electro-Homeopathic Medicine” based in Ahmedabad. .” A search of Gujarati’s home in Randera resulted in the seizure of several incriminating documents.