'Munna Bhai' in Assam's Dibrugarh; arrested after 'treating' 200 patients

An Assam man was arrested on July 14 for allegedly posing as a doctor and duping dozens out of their hard-earned money.

Safiqul Haque was finally arrested by police in Dibrugarh district’s Chaulkhowa village (about 7 km from Dibrugarh town) today, several weeks after he was exposed as a fraud.

Four people, including a government-registered village head, separately lodged FIRs against Haque at the Dibrugarh Sadar and Gabhorupathar police stations.

A local revealed to the media that Haque, who originally hails from Nalbari in Lower Assam, came under scrutiny in June after his wrong treatment of a pregnant woman led to complications.

Villagers, suspecting that something was amiss, raised a hue-and-cry and began investigating the suspected ‘fake doctor.'

Their worst fears were confirmed on June 4 when the Assam Council of Medical Registration, responding to a complaint, confirmed that Haque is not a registered practitioner and registration number 01566 had never been accorded to him.

“We were finally able to prove that he was a fake doctor after probing the matter with the help of government institutions. Police personnel of Assam also played a big role in bringing him to book,” said Mridul Ali, a member of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU).

Sources told India Today NE that about 6 months ago, Haque had opened a chamber in Chaulkhowa village where he ‘treated’ patients. According to some estimates, no less than 200 people in this remote village fell prey to the scam.

His plan was going very smoothly until he slipped up and (expectedly) failed in what he was supposed to do: treat patients.