This ‘Munnabhai’ worked in hospital for 6 yrs

The real-life Munnabhai’s name is Zuber Qureshi and the doctor he impersonated is Dr Meraj Shaikh. The police said Qureshi studied medicine with Shaikh in Wardha.

While Shaikh completed his MBBS and continued his practice in Nagpur,Qureshi failed his first-year exam several times and was expelled.

Qureshi forged certificates and got a job at Bombay Hospital in 2003 as a junior resident doctor in the cardiothoracic surgery department using Shaikh’s name. The police was tipped off about Qureshi by another doctor from Nagpur.

Bombay Hospital doctors said Qureshi had registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council in 2000,three years before he was hired.

“Ideally,it is the MMC that should verify the authenticity of every registered doctor,” said D P Vyas,medical director,Bombay Hospital.

Every six months,resident doctors have to undergo an appraisal from their senior consultant but Qureshi got away without raising suspicion for six years. Hospital officials said they had not received a single complaint against him.

The police said investigation was still on. “We are investigating how this man was hired and how he managed to work there for six years,” said Chering Dorje,DCP (Zone 1) on Thursday.

The hospital said it would make its selection process more stringent by asking for two references. The hospital also called on medical universities to incorporate a photo identity of students on certificates.