Fake doctor seeks renewal of medical registration

A fake medical practitioner, whose name was struck off from the records of the Delhi
Medical Council (DMC) in 2006, has been found to be still practising in Saudi Arabia. The two doctors with the same name Pankaj Kumar Singh, father's name Ranjeet Singh and registration number 42121 of the UP Medical Council had applied for registration with the DMC in 2002 and 2003 respectively, and both were provided registration numbers, DMC Registrar Dr Girish Tyagi said.

However, on a routine scrutiny in 2006, it was discovered that the two had identical details including internships from the same hospitals. Verifications and scrutinies from the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council revealed that one of the two doctors was fake and had forged documents.

"We immediately removed the name of the fake applicant from the rolls of the DMC and informed the Delhi Police about the issue," said Tyagi. However, in May this year, the Council received another application from the same "doctor", now practising in Saudi Arabia, for renewal of registration. Apparently oblivious of the developments, the doctor had also sought issuance of two certificates of 'Good Standing' in addition to the renewal of registration.

"On re-opening the files, we found it was the same doctor whose name had already been removed from our rolls," Tyagi said. While the Medical Council of India had been intimated in 2006 itself to enable it to give the information to all states, the Delhi police has been informed again of the revelation, he said.