In the recent arrest of 44-year-old fake doctor identified as Man Singh Baghel from Palsana area in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, the police investigation has revealed that he found an original degree of a doctor by chance while travelling in a train.
Baghel, a native of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, passed Class 12 in 1994. “During interrogation Baghel told us that he ran a clinic in Agra without professional degree for nine years. On an average he used to look after 25 patients per day. In 2014, when he was travelling to Mathura in a train he found a degree and other documents of a doctor identified as Manoj Kumar lying on a seat,” said a police officer who didn’t want to be named.
After getting his hands on the degree, Baghel went to a computer shop where he morphed the documents, replaced the picture of Doctor Kumar with his own.
In 2018, when he saw a vacancy for a doctor in a hospital in Sikar; he gave an interview and got selected. After submitting a copy of the degree to the hospital along with a fake identity proof, Baghel started working from December 2018. He not only pretended to be a doctor but he also provided bizarre treatments to patients.
“After a few months of joining, hospital administration started receiving complaints about Baghel. In June, a female heart patient was seen by Baghel and her health deteriorated after which she was referred to other hospital which raised alarms in the hospital administration. A team was sent to Agra where they enquired about him. When his voter ID details were checked on website of Election Commission, his fake identity was revealed,” added the police officer.
“The sad part is that many innocent patients of the area unknowingly fell victim to the ‘fake doctor’ before he was finally caught by the police. When the hospital administration enquired about his degrees, he admitted that it did not belong to him. Following that, an FIR against Baghel was lodged,” said Pawan Kumar Chobe, SHO of Ranoli police station.
Chobe added, “We have got the address of Dr Kumar through the website of MCI. A team has been sent at his address too.”
During investigation, Baghel told the police that he used to get Rs 1 lakh salary from the hospital. In his Agra clinic, he used to deal with patients suffering from basic health problems. His two younger brothers runs a medical shop in Agra. Baghel was arrested under Section 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of document) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
