Odisha: Man held for masquerading as doctor and running clinic
A 45-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating as a doctor and running a clinic for the last three years in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said on Saturday. Several medicines and basic medical equipment worth over Rs. one lakh have also been seized during a search operation at the facility in Kumpapada village in Jagannath Prasad block on Thursday, a senior officer said.
In 2020, he shut clinic for COVID-19 norms violations
"We came to know that his educational qualification is only Class VIII and he impersonated himself as an MBBS doctor," Jagannath Prasad Police Station inspector Dillip Nayak said. "The man was running the clinic with a four-bed indoor facility for the past three years and was asked to close the unit for some days in 2020 over violation of the COVID-19 guidelines," he said.
He used to issue prescriptions in name of Dr. Lal
"He used to issue prescriptions to patients in the name of Dr. Lal, and had earlier worked as a laborer in a textile mill in Surat," Nayak said. During interrogation, he revealed that he was only dealing with the people who were suffering from minor ailments and had referred several critical patients to hospitals in Berhampur and other cities of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
He treated around 100 patients daily
Every day, more than 100 patients used to visit his clinic for treatment, the sources said. A case has been registered against him, and further investigation is underway in the case, the officer said.
In May, another man impersonating as pediatrician was arrested
Notably, according to Prameya news, in May this year, another man was held in Odisha's Jharsuguda district for impersonating as a doctor and treating children. The accused, identified as Ramesh Kumar Sahu, was a native of Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district and impersonated himself as a pediatrician. Police raided his clinic after he failed to produce necessary documents related to his medical degree.
