Fake doctor racket mastermind arrested from Bhopal:Police suspect network involved over 50 people, remand of 3 accused extended

The alleged mastermind behind the fake MBBS degree racket in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested by the Damoh Police from Bhopal. Police identified the accused as Hira Singh Kaushal, who was detained from the Kohefiza area on Wednesday. The case relates to individuals allegedly securing government medical jobs using forged MBBS degrees and fake medical registrations. Damoh Superintendent of Police Anand Kaladgi said the network could involve more than 50 people employed at Sanjeevani Clinics operating under the National Health Mission (NHM). According to police, Hira Singh has disclosed several names linked to the racket. Police teams are currently conducting raids in Bhopal, Gwalior, Morena, Dhar, Mandla and Jabalpur. Four arrested so far in the case With Hira Singh Kaushal’s arrest, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to four. Earlier, police had arrested Dr. Kumar Sachin Yadav, Dr. Rajpal Gaur and Dr. Ajay Maurya. The three accused were produced before a court on Wednesday, which extended their police remand by two more days. Investigators said Hira Singh Kaushal was operating the entire network and had first arranged a fake MBBS degree for Ajay Maurya. Police claimed that through Ajay Maurya, Kumar Sachin Yadav and Rajpal Gaur also obtained forged degrees and fake registrations to secure government jobs. Accused used registration numbers of genuine doctors The fraud came to light after Damoh Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. Rajesh Athya ordered verification of the doctors’ credentials following a confidential tip-off. An investigation by the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council found that Rajpal Gaur’s registration was fake. Police said he had altered an old registration number issued in 2018 and presented it as a 2023 registration. The registration number actually belonged to Dr. Abhishek Yadav, who is currently posted in Narmadapuram. Investigators further revealed that the accused had allegedly purchased fake MBBS degrees and forged Medical Council of India registrations for ₹8 lakh to ₹10 lakh each. Fake doctors posted in government health centres Sachin Yadav and Rajpal Gaur were reportedly working at government Arogya Kendras and Sanjeevani Clinics in Damoh. Meanwhile, Ajay Maurya had allegedly been working as a doctor at Sanjeevani Hospital in Jabalpur for the past two-and-a-half years. During the investigation, the names of Jiwaji University and Rewa Medical College also surfaced in connection with the fake degree racket. NHM asked to cancel appointments Investigators found that Dr. Sachin Yadav possesses a genuine Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree and had joined a Sanjeevani Clinic around five months ago. Rajpal Gaur, who had been working for nearly a year, was found to possess a Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) degree. CMHO Dr. Rajesh Athya said the appointments of the accused doctors had been made through the National Health Mission, which also holds the authority to terminate them. He confirmed that a formal letter has been sent to NHM Bhopal seeking cancellation of their appointments. Verification ordered for all doctors in Damoh district Following the revelations, the Damoh Health Department has ordered verification of the degrees and registration documents of all doctors in the district. According to the CMHO office, six Sanjeevani Clinics are currently operating in the city with four doctors posted there. Two of them were found to have fake credentials, while the documents of the remaining two were verified as genuine. Authorities will now verify the credentials of all regular doctors, NHM-appointed doctors and bond-service doctors in the district. Official figures show that the district hospital has 38 doctors, NHM has 15 doctors, and around 28 doctors are posted at the block level. The Health Department is examining the educational qualifications and registration records of all of them.