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Four ‘fake doctors' held in crackdown across Assam

Four ‘fake doctors' held in crackdown across Assam

Time of India10-07-2025
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Guwahati: A total of four "fake doctors" playing with the lives of common people were apprehended in Assam in the last 72 hours in a crackdown against unauthorised medical practitioners, officials said on Thursday.
One "fake doctor" is currently absconding, and a manhunt is on to arrest him.
While two arrests were made in Nagaon on Tuesday, two more were arrested in Jorhat on Wednesday after an anti-quackery and vigilance officer of the Assam govt, Dr Abhijit Neog, lodged FIRs against them. All of them are residents of Assam. They were arrested for criminal breach of trust, endangering public safety, and cheating under BNS, and various sections under the NMC Act 2019.
All four have been sent to judicial custody after being produced in local courts.
Since the establishment of the anti-quackery and vigilance cell in Jan 2025, 10 fake doctors have been apprehended thus far in the state. Of the 13 FIRs lodged by the unit, ten suspects were arrested, one is absconding, and two cases are under investigation. The identification of such practitioners in Assam began approximately a decade ago, though their presence existed earlier.
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Including Dr Neog's personal efforts over the years, approximately 47 fake doctors were identified and arrested.
"The targets of fake doctors are from lower and middle-income groups in both rural and urban areas. Tea garden workers are more susceptible to fake doctors. Around 15 such doctors were arrested from tea gardens in the last few years," Dr Neog told TOI. These individuals successfully manipulate semi-literate people, who lack awareness about proper medical qualifications.
The anti-quackery and vigilance unit received information about individuals posing as doctors with unrecognised qualifications in Nagaon, Hojai, and Jorhat districts. "First, we conducted our own investigations and scrutinised the available documents and qualifications of these individuals. We realised that most of them did not have any requisite qualifications. Some produced fake MBBS graduation certificates, while others had degrees in unrecognised streams like alternative medicines," Dr Neog said.
After gathering evidence, FIRs were filed with local police stations. While one suspect from Doboka, Hojai district remains at large, the others were arrested. Bimal Sutradhar from Juria and Pankaj Das from Seconee tea estate in Nagaon were arrested on Tuesday. AK Gogoi and Amarjyoti Nath were apprehended from Jorhat on Wednesday.
Gogoi claimed to be a medicine specialist and ICU expert, while Nath said he specialised in Indian medicine but practised allopathic medicine.
Nath's qualifications are not recognised by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine. "Sutradhar claimed to be an expert in treating infants, but was a fake Ayurvedic practitioner without any medical degree or registration. On the other hand, Das lacked any recognised qualification," Dr Neog said.
Abdul Wahid, who is currently absconding, was under investigation by health services. Wahid claimed that he was an MBBS graduate from Chhattisgarh, but his claim proved to be false. "He claimed to be a neurologist with a diploma in ' Clinical Neurology' from a university in Rajasthan, which does not have medical colleges or medical education programmes," Neog added.
Wahid operated "ATS Health Polyclinic" in Doboka for over two years before authorities sealed it on July 4. He and his spouse are currently absconding.
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