The Matunga police on Tuesday arrested a 30-year-old MBBS doctor for allegedly performing a surgery and endangering the life of a 43-year-old taxi driver who was suffering from piles. According to Maharashtra Medical Council, no MBBS doctor can perform a surgery without having a Master in Surgery degree.
Police said the accused, who claimed to have completed his MBBS degree in 2017 from a university in Andhra Pradesh, has confessed to having performed such surgeries on at least a thousand other patients in the last three years.
According to police, the case was registered on Monday after they received a report from the Maharashtra Medical Council and the expert panel of JJ hospital confirming negligence on the part of the accused, identified as Mukesh Kota.
Police said Kota had been running a clinic called Gopal Rao’s Piles and Ano-Rectal Centre in Dadar for the past three years and had even put up hoardings across the city, claiming “100% treatment without operation”.
Police said the matter came to light in March when taxi driver Khaliluddin Khateeb submitted a complaint application alleging negligence on the part of the doctor.
Khateeb told police that he had found the doctor’s number on the internet and went to his clinic on February 20. He was called again the next day and told that he needed to undergo a surgery, police said.
“The complainant was made to fill a consent form after which Kota performed a surgery on him. He was charged Rs 25,000 for the operation,” said an officer from Matunga police station.
On his way home, Khateeb started bleeding and lost consciousness inside a taxi. He was then rushed to KEM hospital, where he was treated, police added.
After he got discharged from the hospital, Khateeb went to the police on March 5.
The Matunga police wrote to the Maharashtra Medical Council and JJ hospital seeking their opinion on the matter.
“The council reverted a month back stating that an MBBS doctor cannot perform any surgery until he has a Master in Surgery degree,” said an investigator. “At the same time, a special panel appointed at JJ hospital to probe the matter gave us a report on June 20 confirming negligence on the part of the doctor,” the officer added.
Subsequently, a case under sections 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered.
Senior police inspector Nitin Mansingh Bobade confirmed Kota was arrested on Tuesday.
He was produced in court on Wednesday, which remanded him to police custody till June 27.
Police said they will trace down other patients on whom Kota had performed surgeries in the past. They will also approach the university in Andhra Pradesh seeking confirmation on his MBBS qualification.