A man claiming to be a cardiologist who ran his own hospital for five years was not registered as a doctor in the state of Karnataka.
S K Guharoy, who described himself as “about 42 years” in the documents he submitted in court, is not registered as a doctor in his hometown state of West Bengal. He says he has treated thousands of patients at his Medicare Hospital in R T Nagar in the past five years.
According to the Medical Council of India, all doctors working in the state should be registered both in Karnataka and in their home state.
Guharoy’s name is not included in the online register of all doctors in India which is operated and maintained by the MCI. Police sources say that they have spoken to him and are currently investigating whether he is a bona fide doctor.
Guharoy filed a harassment writ against Hebbal police officers who were looking into his activities. When he was asked by a High Court judge to produce medical qualifications as part of that case, the documents he supplied sparked a new police inquiry.
Guharoy failed to produce authentic proof of his educational qualifications before Karnataka High Court during the court proceedings.
He filed the writ against investigating officers of Hebbal Police Station on January 5, 2012, claiming they had defamed him with false accusations. During the proceedings, he was asked to submit documents to validate his qualifications. It was then that Guharoy said he wanted to withdraw his petition.
Fake credentials all along
The documents submitted in the court on August 19, 2013, did not support his claim of being MD (Med) and MHA (Hospital Administration) as mentioned on his letterhead. He claims in his letterheads to have worked at various medical establishments all over India. But spokespersons at the hospitals he mentions have never heard of him.
He claims to have worked as a registrar, a senior hospital administrator, at the renowned All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Spokesman Dr Sanjay Arya stated in a letter: “As per our records, no one in the name of Dr S.K. Guharoy was formerly registrar (MED) at AIIMS, New Delhi.” The Medical Superintendent of Mallaya Apollo Hospital, Bangalore, Kanchan Sanyal, also stated that he had never worked as a consultant with the hospital, despite what Guharoy wrote on his letterhead.
Dr Sanyal said: “There has been no consultant by the name of S.K. Guharoy in our hospital records and documents.”
The certificates submitted as evidence in the court did not mention when he completed his medical studies. The dates were distorted in the photocopies, his examination results did not reveal the name of the college he attended, and his admit-card had no roll number. The High Court has asked police to investigate these anomalies.
Guharoy submitted a certificate from the American Board of Internal Medicine which states, “Shyamal Kanti Guharoy has met the requirements of the board and is hereby certified for the period 1994 through 2004 as a diplomate in Internal Medicine.” On verification, Ethan Lambert, Customer Service Representative, ABIM, said, “I was unable to locate a Dr. Shyamal Kanti Guharoy in our database.”
S.K Guharoy has also submitted to court records of the trade license issued by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. A source in Hebbal Police Station said, “The BBMP has given in writing that the doctor has not submitted any records of registration with Karnataka Medical Council.”
P. Usman, the advocate representing one of the police officials Guharoy accused of harassment, said, “My client has been given permission to conduct his investigation of the documents submitted in the court.”
Guharoy has been booked twice under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act in 2005-06. According to Usman, “A charge sheet was filed but I don’t know what happened in the court.” Guharoy closed his hospital last year and claims he has lost up to eight lakhs in lost business because of harrassment.
When contacted, he refused to comment.
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