HT DIGITAL
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 4: Police in Silchar arrested a man who allegedly impersonated a doctor and conducted surgery on an expectant mother at the Shibsundari Nari Shiksha Seva Ashram Hospital. The ensuing scandal has set off public outrage across the nation and raised serious questions about hospital regulation, internal controls, and patient protection.
The suspect, Pulak Malakar, was stopped within the operation theatre of the hospital on Saturday night by Silchar Sadar Police Station officers. As per the investigators, Malakar was not possessed of any medical qualifications or license, but had been performing procedures — including operations — at the hospital for a long time.
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Police initiated the raid after a tip-off. When police officers arrived at the hospital, they found Malakar undergoing a surgery. He was detained on the spot. A senior police officer confirmed that the patient was shifted to another medical facility safely, with doctors saying her condition was stable.
Hospital officials have since acknowledged that Malakar had been working inside the facilities without ever going through proper screening or credential checks. “He roamed freely between wards and operation theatres, conducting himself as a qualified professional. This reveals serious shortcomings in our internal checks,” confided one hospital staff member off the record.
The news immediately triggered an outcry from the local community. On Sunday morning, a huge crowd of protesters converged outside the hospital, calling for accountability and prompt reforms. “This is a betrayal of public trust,” shouted one protester. “We want care, not deception, from our hospitals.”
Silchar Police have registered a criminal case against Malakar under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), such as Section 419 (impersonation), Section 420 (cheating), and Section 336 (risking human life). The investigators are currently attempting to find out how Malakar gained entry to sensitive zones in the hospital and whether any employees might have aided him knowingly or otherwise.
No internal conspiracy or gross procedural flaws have been ruled out by authorities. The Assam Health Department has been informed, and sources indicate that a departmental inquiry may soon be initiated to evaluate institutional failings that enabled the scam to go on unabated.
It is very evident case of medical fraud and serious public health danger. We are taking it very seriously,” a senior police official said.
While social media posters and news commentators have likened the case to the fictional character in Munna Bhai MBBS, who pretended to be a doctor for humor, officials were swift to warn that real impersonation has life-and-death implications.
