Nine fake doctors were apprehended during simultaneous raids on clinics in the Dindoli area of Surat on Thursday, with the police and health department seizing medicines, injections, syrups and medical equipment worth around Rs 95,000, officials said. The seized material was valued at Rs 95,138, and cases have been registered against the nine accused at Dindoli police station.
Source: IANS via India Tribune
The raids were conducted jointly by the Surat City Special Operations Group (SOG) and teams from the District Health Department, after dummy patients were sent to the clinics to verify information that individuals without recognised medical qualifications were treating patients. Deputy Commissioner of Police (SOG) Rajdeepsinh Nakum told IANS the operation had been planned in coordination with the office of the Chief District Health Officer, Dr Anil Patel, and that raids planned from the morning were carried out at several locations simultaneously. The drive followed instructions from Surat Police Commissioner Wabang Jamir to identify clinics being run by people without medical degrees or on the basis of allegedly fabricated qualifications, and SOG teams worked under the supervision of DCP Nakum and Police Inspector A.S. Sonara.
Clinics allegedly run for years, earnings up to Rs 3,500 a day
Police identified the accused as Rohit Patil, Parmanand Patel, Aartidevi Maurya, Mahesh Rajput, Kamalaprasad Gond, Sopan Patil, Manoharlala Kumawat, Dinesh Bharti and Kishor Vishwas. Their educational backgrounds ranged from schooling up to Classes 10 and 12 and a Bachelor of Arts degree to training in electropathy and pharmacy, police said. Patil had allegedly run Mauli Clinic in Navagam, Dindoli, for three years after working as a compounder in Sangamner, and was also arrested in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, in 2024 in a case involving the alleged sale of fake pregnancy medicines. Patel had allegedly operated Manisha Clinic for five years; Maurya, a BA graduate who had worked as a nurse at Amardeep Hospital in Godadara for five years, had allegedly run Aashi Clinic for one-and-a-half years; Rajput had allegedly run Maya Clinic for eight years; and Gond, who had worked as a compounder in Uttar Pradesh, had allegedly operated Krishna Clinic for 10 years.
Sopan Patil had allegedly operated Shree Sai Clinic for seven years and had studied electropathy; Kumawat, who had studied pharmacy, had reportedly run Shree Radhekrishna Clinic for six months; Bharti had allegedly operated Sahgar Clinic for three years; and Vishwas had run Sadguru Sant Kripal Clinic for six years, police said. The accused had allegedly earned between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,500 a day through their practices. "The District Health Department will initiate separate proceedings under the Clinical Establishments Act," officials said. The charges are allegations under investigation and have not been proved in court.