Fake Doctors, Dead Patients: How A Medical Racket Unfolded In South Delhi

Two doctors, a woman posing as a surgeon, a laboratory technician, and several patients dead - a sensational episode has come to light in Delhi's posh Greater Kailash area. Four people were arrested in connection with the deaths of two patients who underwent surgeries at a clinic in the south Delhi locality.

Three people - Dr Neeraj Agarwal, his wife Pooja Agarwal and Dr Jaspreet Singh - were arrested along with former laboratory technician Mahender Singh on Tuesday, the Delhi Police said. 

According to the police, a patient, Asghar Ali, was admitted to the clinic in 2022 for gallbladder treatment. Initially, Mr Ali was informed that the surgery would be performed by Dr Jaspreet, a qualified surgeon. However, just before the operation, Dr Jaspreet was replaced by Pooja and Mahendra.

After exiting the operating room, Mr Ali reportedly experienced severe pain and was promptly transported to Safdarjung Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The patients' families alleged that Dr Agarwal, who runs the Agarwal Medical Centre, and three others performed surgeries on the vital organs of multiple patients without following established medical protocols. According to the complainants, Dr Agarwal is a physician but performs a varied range surgeries because he possesses forged documents.

An investigation into the case revealed that since 2016, there have been at least nine complaints against Dr Agarwal, Pooja and the Agarwal Medical Centre. According to the police, in all seven cases, patients died due to medical negligence, news agency PTI reported. 

"On November 1, a medical board consisting of four doctors was called to examine the medical centre, and a lot of shortcomings and deficiencies were observed," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Chandan Chowdhary remarked, adding that the investigation revealed Agarwal's habitual practice of falsifying documents related to patients' treatment and surgery.

Police have seized 414 prescription slips bearing only doctors' signatures, with ample space left blank at the top, two registers containing patient details for medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) procedures performed at the clinic, and a number of prohibited medications and injections that are not authorised for storage outside of hospital settings.

The cops have also recovered expired surgical blades, original prescription slips belonging to numerous patients, checkbooks from 47 different banks, 54 ATM cards from various banks, passbooks from multiple post offices, and six POS terminal credit card machines from Agarwal's residence and clinic.