Hyderabad Police arrested 11 people, including a woman, for allegedly posing as doctors and practising medicine without valid medical qualifications.
The arrests were made during a special operation conducted by the Hyderabad City Police Task Force in the Jubilee Hills and Secunderabad zones, based on reports.
Hyderabad Task Force DCP Vaibhav Gaikwad Raghunath said, as cited by Deccan Chronicle, that the accused allegedly used fake degree certificates and fake doctor certificates while practising medicine.
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Police seized fake MBBS certificates, homeopathic certificates, mark sheets, prescriptions and other material during the raids. The seized items also included stethoscopes, blood pressure machines, 277 injections, 933 tablets, syringes, pregnancy test kits and prescription pads.
Telangana Tribune reported that the police also recovered rubber stamps bearing doctors' names, fake medical certificates, medicines, glucose bottles, and other medical equipement.
According to DCP Vaibhav Gaikwad Raghunath, the accused allegedly administered injections and intravenous saline or glucose to patients. Deccan Chronicle further reported that some of the accused allegedly performed procedures including surgical suturing while falsely presenting themselves as MBBS doctors.
According to the same report, the alleged fake doctors were treating approximately 50-100 patients every day. They charged the patients between Rs. 50 and Rs. 200 per consultation.
Where Were the Arrests Made?
Telangana Tribune reported that six of the alleged fake doctors were arrested in the Secunderabad zone while five were arrested in the Jubilee Hills zone. 11 cases were registered against the accused at different police stations across Hyderabad. Two cases were registered at Mudar Nagar, while once case each was registered at Jubilee Hills, Filmnagar, Borbanda, Ramgopalpet, and Domalguda police stations. Further, two cases cases each were registered at Chikalguda and in the Old City area.
Who Were the Accused?
Those arrested included former compounders, paramedics and laboratory technicians who allegedly went on to run clinics as doctors, Times of India reported.
D Rama Shekar Reddy was arrested at Sri Aqua First Aid Centre in Madhura Nagar, where he allegedly ran a pharmacy and treated patients. Ragam Sudhakar, a diploma holder in anaesthesia technology, allegedly charged Rs. 200 per consultation and treated up to 50 patients a day, according to TOI.
Police also arrested former paramedic Mirudoddy Bharathi for allegedly treating patients, including children, without a licence. Katika Mahesh Rao was arrested in Jubilee Hills for allegedly running a clinic despite having no medical background.
Panuganti Bala Narasimha was arrested in Film Nagar for allegedly running Sai Tirumala Clinic under his MBBS-qualified daughter's name while treating patients himself. Md Abdul Vali, a former laboratory technician, was allegedly running a clinic near a vegetable market in Borabanda, TOI reported.
According to Task Force Inspector J Raja Sekhar, Adan Samdan had allegedly posed as a dermatologist and run Samdani Clinic in Nallagutta for four years. Police alleged that he used a homemade mixture of petroleum gel, calcium powder and zinc oxide to treat psoriasis.
The other accused were identified as Nilagiri Prasad, M Srinivas and P Sadanand.
Police Probe
According to a Task Force inspector cited by the Times of India, the police had not received any patient complaints against the accused so far but investigators would examine their previous activities.
The seized medicines and medical equipment were handed over to the concerned law and order police for further investigation. Deccan Chronicle reported that the police described the alleged activities as a threat to patients' health and safety and said that the accused had gained financially through the unauthorised practice of medicine.
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