Silchar— A Bangladeshi national masquerading as a senior physician with a forged medical degree was arrested in Assam’s Cachar district, police said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Jayanta Prasad Das, was taken into custody on Wednesday night for allegedly running a fake medical institution in Silchar.
Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Numal Mahatta said Das had been operating an unrecognised entity called the National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), which issued fake medical certificates, including MD degrees in “Alternative Medicine.” The institute had no recognition from the National Medical Council (NMC) or any other competent authority.
The arrest comes as part of a larger crackdown on quackery in the region that began on August 3 with the detention of the first fake doctor, Pulok Malakar. Since then, 13 others, including Das, have been arrested. “Several of the arrested individuals had obtained their fake certificates from Das’s institute,” Mahatta confirmed.
Police said Das had been running the fraudulent operation for nearly two decades, enabling dozens of unqualified individuals to pose as doctors, thereby endangering public health. “He is the mastermind of a nexus involving fake colleges, forged degrees, and fabricated certificates,” the SSP added.
Investigations also revealed that Das operated spa centres and restaurants in Silchar, which were allegedly used for other illegal activities. Police have seized documents and materials from these premises as evidence.
Das has been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 125 (acts endangering human life), 271 (acts likely to spread infectious diseases), 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(4) (forgery), 340(2) (using forged documents as genuine), 112(2) (organised crime), and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide).
He was produced before a local court on Thursday and remanded to police custody for further investigation.
