Mumbai police have arrested a phony doctor and his partner in a startling medical fraud case for allegedly executing a phony knee operation at the house of an elderly woman, robbing her of Rs 7.20 lakh. The incident happened three years ago, but the complainant just learned about it recently after reading about similar fraud incidents in the media.
Zaffar Merchant, who pretended to be a doctor, and his associate Vinod Goyal have been named as the accused. The police claim that the 61-year-old complainant, together with her family, including her elderly mother, who is in her late 70s and has knee discomfort, lives in Andheri. Goyal allegedly asked the complainant’s mother about her knee problems when they met at a dental facility on October 22, 2021. He went on to tell a made-up story of how his own mother’s knee issues were resolved by a doctor who did minor knee surgery at her house.
The elderly woman was given the phone number of Zaffar Merchant, the phony doctor, by Goyal. Merchant pretended to be a Thane doctor and promised to come to the complainant’s mother’s house when she contacted the number. He allegedly relieved her discomfort at her home by performing a fictitious knee surgery. Cuttings were made on both knees, some white fluid and blood were extracted, the knees were placed on a piece of paper, turmeric was sprinkled on it, and the paper was thrown away. He told the woman that the surgery was successful and that her knee issues had been fixed after going through the procedure several times.
The merchant then requested Rs 7.2 lakh to be paid for the process. Because they couldn’t transfer so much money electronically, the complainant and her mother paid the fee in cash. But the complainant’s mother’s knee pain continued after the procedure. Merchant’s phone was turned off when the family tried to reach him. Likewise, when they contacted Goyal, he made vacuous promises before cutting off all contact.
The family decided not to pursue the matter further since they were upset by the deception and were already suffering with personal losses. But in August 2024, they saw a news article about similar scam committed by Merchant in the western suburbs of Mumbai. On October 24, 2024, they formally complained to the police after waiting for two months.
According to Sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, the police have now accused Merchant and Goyal with impersonation and cheating. They believe the two are repeat criminals who have defrauded other elderly victims in the neighborhood. There are still investigations going on.
SOURCE :
INDIAN EXPRESS
