Rajasthan Police Bust Major Medical Racket Using Forged FMGE Certificates
Jaipur: In a significant crackdown on medical malpractice, the Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 18 individuals on Wednesday, including a former registrar of the Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC). The arrests are linked to an alleged racket that used forged Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) certificates to push unqualified candidates into hospitals by granting them registrations and internships across India.
Key Accused and Arrest Details
Additional Director General of SOG, Vishal Bansal, identified the primary accused as former RMC registrar Dr. Rajesh Sharma and former nodal officer Akhilesh Mathur. They were arrested alongside 15 candidates who obtained MBBS degrees abroad but failed to clear the mandatory FMGE required to practice medicine in India.
A team led by Deputy Inspector General Paris Deshmukh and Superintendent of Police Kundan Kanwariya conducted extensive raids across 22 cities to apprehend the accused. Bansal emphasized that the accused exploited fake FMGE certificates to secure provisional registrations from the RMC, allowing them to enter hospitals as interns while bypassing essential verification checks.
Systemic Manipulation and Financial Trail
According to investigators, the certificates were not authenticated before issuing registrations, enabling unqualified individuals to infiltrate the healthcare system. DIG Paris Deshmukh noted that these arrests follow an earlier breakthrough in December last year, when the SOG exposed the racket by apprehending three fake doctors—Piyush Kumar Trivedi, Devendra Singh Gurjar, and Shubham Gurjar—who used forged FMGE documents to secure internships.
That initial probe expanded into a larger network involving officials, agents, and candidates, uncovering what authorities describe as an organized syndicate. This syndicate allegedly facilitated illegal registrations and internships through forged FMGE documents, with collusion from within the council. A case was registered after evidence pointed to systemic manipulation of the registration process.
The financial aspects of the scandal have deepened the investigation. Preliminary findings indicate that each candidate paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to enter the system. Of this amount, approximately Rs 11 lakh per candidate was allegedly routed to RMC officials and staff, with the remainder distributed among middlemen and agents.
Patient Safety Concerns and Ongoing Probe
The probe has revealed alarming details, such as one accused, Dr. Yash Purohit, working as a doctor in a private hospital in Udaipur using a fake certificate. Investigators have identified over 90 such doctors who may have entered the system through forged documents, raising serious concerns about patient safety and the integrity of medical practices.
The role of previously arrested individuals, including Dr. Sharma and several agents, has surfaced, with investigators flagging large-scale financial transactions linked to the racket. The racket first triggered official alarm in October 2024, when the medical and health department constituted a five-member inquiry committee following allegations of fake registrations.
Based on interim findings, Dr. Sharma was suspended after procedural lapses and irregularities were flagged in the issuance of licenses. With his arrest, investigators report that the probe is expanding rapidly, with more arrests likely as authorities work to identify the full extent of the network and those who enabled it.
