Man posed as US doctor to land cardiologist gig at UP govt college — till his sister outed him

The fraud came to light after a complaint was filed by none other than Abhinav’s sister.

The Lalitpur police arrested Abhinav on Friday and produced him in court, which remanded him to judicial custody, said Circle Officer Ajay Kumar.

Police said the accused had been working on a contractual basis as a Specialist (Cardiology and General Medicine) at the government college. He had been convicted in the past in a corruption case, said police.

According to a police officer, the original Dr Rajeev Gupta (Abhinav’s brother-in-law) has been in Texas for nearly two decades and works as a cardiologist at a hospital there. He completed his medical education in India before moving to the United States.

Police said his wife, Dr Sonali Singh, recently arrived in India and lodged a complaint with the medical college’s principal against her brother, alleging that he fraudulently used the identity and medical degrees of her husband to obtain the appointment. It could not be immediately ascertained how she came to know about the alleged misuse of the degree.

Police said following an inquiry, an FIR was registered on Friday at Kotwali police station in Lalitpur on the complaint of Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ram Naresh Soni, against Abhinav on charges of cheating, fraud and other related offences.

College principal Dr Mayank Shukla said Dr Sonali visited his office two days ago and informed him that her brother had secured the job using her husband’s medical degree. The information was subsequently forwarded to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Imtiyaz Ahmed, who constituted a three-member committee to verify the claim.

Dr Shukla said the accused was appointed through the CMO’s office in Lalitpur under the National Health Mission (NHM) scheme in 2022. “We will examine the recovery of the remuneration he received while working at the medical college,” Dr Shukla said.

He added that Abhinav was posted at the Cardiac Care Unit, where he was assigned duties such as monitoring blood pressure, pulse and other routine tasks, and was not assigned duties in highly sensitive areas.

Dr Shukla also said in light of the incident, the college has decided to verify the degrees of all staff.

CMO Ahmed said the allegations had initially appeared doubtful as the accused had resigned from the post on December 9, citing the death of his mother — who later turned out to be alive. The resignation letter had been submitted to the CMO’s office.

‘Booked in 1999, arrested in 2019’

Police said during questioning, the accused claimed he had studied Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from an IIT. Singh then joined the Customs Department, and was first posted in Mumbai as a Customs Officer.

In 1999, police said, the Customs Department registered a case against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, following which he went on the run and changed locations to avoid legal action.

Police said he later fraudulently obtained his brother-in-law’s educational documents without his consent, allegedly prepared fabricated medical records and worked as a doctor in Mathura, police said.

In 2019, police said, a CBI team arrested Abhinav from Mathura in connection with the Customs case and he was sent to jail. A court sentenced him to 16 months’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 8 lakh.

In 2020, he was released and returned home.

Police said he then learnt that a recruitment process was underway under the NHM for the Cardiology Department at the State Medical College in Lalitpur and he took part in it. For the interview, police said, he studied the relevant books and submitted his application using forged documents in the name of Dr Rajeev Gupta.

Asked how the accused was hired, CMO Ahmed said he had been appointed during the tenure of the previous CMO.

Superintendent of Police, Lalitpur, Mohammad Mustaque, said the police would seek custody remand of the accused for further investigation. He added that the accused had also obtained an arms licence using a false identity, and a separate case would be registered in this regard.