July 9: At least 20 persons were arrested from different parts of the state over the past month and a half on the charge of prescribing allopathic medicines, which police said they were not authorised to do.

Sleuths working on the case said another 50 allegedly fake doctors were under the scanner across the state.

At least 10 of the accused were rounded up from the city and its adjoining areas. Some of the suspects have studied homeopathy at institutions affiliated to the state government but were prescribing allopathic drugs in violation of rules, police sources said.

Several others had not even enrolled in any college after clearing the Class XII exams .

The CID, which is investigating the case, has spoken to the chief medical officers of health of three districts -North Dinajpur, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri - in connection with the racket that was unearthed towards the end of May.

"The racket came to light following the arrest of three doctors who had been posted at rural health centres in North Dinajpur, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri. They were Kaiser Alam, Khushinath Halder and Snehasish Chakrabarty. The chief medical officer of health of a district is the appointing authority of doctors at the rural health centres in the district. So the three have been questioned," a CID officer said.

Metro finds answers to some of the questions related to fake doctors.

Who are the fake doctors?

All the arrested persons claimed they had an MBBS degree but investigations revealed that none had passed the exam, an officer said. Two of the accused had done Unani and Alternative Medicine courses.

Who is authorised to prescribe allopathic drugs?

Anyone who has an MBBS degree and a registration number issued by the respective medical council.

From this year students can enrol in an MBBS course after clearing the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test. Till last year in Bengal, the state JEE board used to conduct an entrance test for medical colleges.

Are there other legitimate doctors?

Yes. According to the central government rules, anyone who has done a homoeopathy, ayurveda, naturopathy, Unani, Sidhha or Sowa course is authorised to treat a patient. But he or she cannot prescribe allopathy medicines.

Can a doctor of one stream prescribe medicines of another stream?

No. Only those who have an MBBS degree can prescribe allopathy medicines. Similarly, someone with a degree in homoeopathy is authorised to prescribe homoeopathy medicines.

What makes a doctor fake?

The three accused who worked in rural health centres in North Dinajpur, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri and a fourth who worked at a private hospital in Alipore had allegedly produced forged MBBS certificates to secure appointment.

Naren Pandey, an accused, used to practise as an allergist, asthmalogist and immunotherapist at Belle Vue Clinic's outdoor unit. The police said his consultation fee was Rs 1,000.

Pandey was arrested after he prescribed an allopathy medicine to a cop posing as a patient. "He could only produce a certificate in Unani medicine," an officer said.

The Belle Vue authorities had told Metro that nowhere in the hospital records was Pandey mentioned as a doctor with an MBBS degree.

Accused Ajay Tiwari, the police said, practised as a gastroentrologist. He was arrested after a man in his 30s lodged a complaint with the CID, holding Tiwari responsible for the death of his mother. "A probe revealed that Tiwari is a commerce graduate," an officer said.

Izaz Ahmed, arrested from his chamber in Baruipur in South 24-Parganas, has never been to any college.

Arodeep Chatterjee, in his early 40s, was arrested from Lake Town last month for allegedly pretending to be a cancer specialist though he does not have an MBBS degree.

How can one know whether a doctor is fake or not?

If a patient is suspicious about a doctor's qualification, he or she should ask for the registration number and the certificate. If the state medical council is approached with a registration number, the panel will find out whether the person concerned is a genuine doctor or not.

Did the accused procure fake certificates? If yes, how?

Four of the accused procured fake registration and MBBS certificates. Police said Ramesh Chandra Baidya of Barasat arranged forged certificates for fake doctors.

The police have also sealed four offices - in the College Street, Bowbazar, Chowringhee and Behala areas - where one could allegedly buy forged certificates. Many fake certificates were seized from the offices.

Gobinda Sarkar, an accused arrested from Deganga in North 24-Parganas, has allegedly told the police that he had procured a forged registration certificate for Rs 10,000.

How deep-rooted is the problem?

Sleuths have described the racket as a mushrooming menace. CID sources said at least another 50 persons, some of whom are attached to government health centres, are under the scanner. Three private hospitals off the Bypass are under the scanner, too, said a CID officer.

"We are getting calls from across the state. People want to know whether the doctors practising in their areas are genuine or not. The state medical council has floated a website and urged the people to alert them if they are suspicious of any doctor's qualification," an officer said.

Why did fake doctors flourish?

"The three accused who were attached to health centres in north Bengal have said during interrogation that they had taken advantage of doctors' reluctance to work in rural areas," an officer said.