An alleged fraudulent doctor was arrested on Tuesday in the city after nearly 40 years of deceptive practice in Assam and Bengal, where he reportedly retired in 2005.
The arrest comes shortly before the Guwahati High Court is scheduled to review a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) registered by a city-based doctor, Abhijit Neog. The PIL calls for the court's intervention in addressing the proliferation of fake doctors in Assam. On February 4 Abhijit had lodged a FIR expressing doubts about the credentials of the doctor in question.
The accused, identified as Premananda Rai, in his late sixties, was arrested at a pharmacy located under the Odalbakra police outpost in Guwahati, where he had been practicing for approximately two years.
Premananda was held by a police squad under sub-inspector J.J. Gogoi, with significant support and evidence provided by Abhijit. He was subsequently produced in a Guwahati court, which remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody on Wednesday.
Abhijit Neog has helped in the exposure of 32 alleged fraudulent doctors, including Premananda, in Assam since 2016. According to Abhijit, the discrepancies in his claimed degrees, registration number, prescription errors, and dubious death certificates raised suspicions. This cause Abhijit to conduct further inquiries, resulting in Premananda's arrest on Tuesday night.
Abhijit's investigation revealed that purported degrees did not exist, and his registration number belonged to one Dr. S.N. Sen from Bengal. Additionally, spelling errors and technical inaccuracies in documents signed by Premananda drew attention to his questionable credentials, resulting in doubt among local doctors and residents.
The police launched their investigation, discovering that Rai had acquired a diploma from the Guwahati-based School of General Medical Practice in 1977, an institution not recognized by any statutory body.
Praising the police's proactive approach leading to fraudulent arrests, Abhijit highlighted that Rai could not produce the Diploma in Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGO) mentioned on his letterhead.
The fraudulent, born in 1956 according to his PAN card, worked in tea estates in Assam and Bengal before his reported retirement in 2005.
Guwahati High Court is set to review PIL on March 11. The PIL, which was admitted on May 12, 2023, seeks the establishment of a proper mechanism to verify the qualifications of modern medicine practitioners in Assam and identify those operating without the requisite qualifications.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has acknowledged Abhijit's efforts in exposing alleged fake doctors. During the annual conference held in Allahabad on December 27, 2022, the IMA presented him with the IMA's National President's Appreciation Award.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi/MSM)
