Mumbai: Fake Doctor Performs Sham Surgery on 55-Year-Old Woman, Cheats Her of Rs 8.25 Lakh
Mumbai: Fake Doctor Performs Sham Surgery on 55-Year-Old Woman, Cheats Her of Rs 8.25 Lakh
In Mumbai, a 55-year-old woman was recently deceived in a fake medical treatment scam involving turmeric and water. The incident began when the accused met the woman outside a Vile Parle hospital, striking up a conversation about her knee pain. The scammer, posing as someone with a similar experience, recommended a Thane-based doctor who had supposedly cured his mother’s knee issues.
This elaborate ruse led the woman to contact the fake doctor. The scammer, along with two accomplices, conducted a superficial knee surgery at the woman’s home, using a blade to make small incisions and inserting pipes to extract a yellowish liquid. This procedure, repeated around 200 times, cost the woman Rs 8.25 lakh. Each session was charged at Rs 4,000, adding up to a substantial bill.
Despite undergoing these procedures, the woman’s knee pain persisted. The clinic she had been referred to turned out to be non-existent. Suspecting fraud, she and her husband investigated further, discovering that 30-40 others had fallen victim to the same scam.
The Vile Parle police have registered an FIR against the three suspects: Firoz Merchant, Kailas Kumar Mandal, and Sumant Kumar. They have been charged under Sections 34, 406, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, though all remain at large. Authorities believe the accused used fake names to carry out their fraudulent activities.
The complainant, who resides with her husband in JB Nagar, Andheri East, had been struggling with knee pain since 2017 and was undergoing treatment at Jaslok Hospital. However, her condition relapsed in 2021. On September 17 last year, after a hospital visit in Vile Parle, she encountered the fraudster who introduced himself as Vijay Mehta. He claimed his mother had been cured by a doctor named Firoz Merchant in Thane through minimally invasive surgery.
After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Firoz following her treatment, the woman’s husband visited the clinic’s supposed address in Thane in November 2023, only to find it had not operated for the past three years. It became clear they had been defrauded, along with many others.
Veena Makhijani (70) filed a case at Santacruz police station on February 11 against Vijay Mehta, Kusum Mehta, Dr. Firoz Merchant, and Mohammad Younis for allegedly cheating her of Rs 60,000. Makhijani, a homemaker from Vile Parle West, was undergoing knee treatment at Hinduja Hospital and Nanavati Hospital. On November 9, 2023, Vijay Mehta (35) introduced himself to her, noting her knee problem, and recommended Dr. Merchant. Makhijani spoke with Kusum Mehta, who claimed improvement after treatment from Dr. Merchant, leading Makhijani to contact him for home treatment. Dr. Merchant, assisted by Mohammad Younis, performed a procedure and charged Rs 60,000. Unsatisfied with the results, Makhijani sought a refund and discovered the clinic did not exist. The case was filed under sections 34 (common intention) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police are continuing their investigation, hoping to apprehend the culprits involved in this fraudulent scheme.
