Maharashtra Cyber busts gang forging FMGE scorecards for foreign MBBS graduates; three held

Maharashtra Cyber has busted a large inter-state network that produced fake doctors. The gang allegedly made forged scorecards and certificates of the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) for students who returned to India after earning an MBBS degree abroad. This enabled them to complete their registration as doctors in India, it has emerged.

The case came to light when the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) scrutinised applications for registration. The FMGE screening test is mandatory for foreign medical graduates. The council suspected that some people held medical registration certificates even though they had not passed it. The MMC then promptly lodged a complaint with the local cyber police station in Mumbai and Maharashtra Cyber.

After a detailed investigation of technical analysis, digital records and system logs, Maharashtra Cyber identified those involved in the fraud. So far, three people, including the ringleader, have been arrested.

The arrested accused include Varun Prataprao Akhade (28) and Sanket Prabhakar Unhale (26), both residents of Buldhana. The investigation found that the two had themselves failed the FMGE. They still tried to practise as doctors on the strength of a forged certificate.

The third and most important accused, Rahul Gopal Patil (35), is a resident of Nashik. He is said to be the mastermind and operator of the entire inter-state gang. The investigation also found that, for money, he prepared forged scorecards, certificates and other documents for 15 to 20 applicants in the same way.

According to Maharashtra Cyber, the accused are being questioned. Police are tracing the whole network, including those who made the forged documents, those who passed them on and those who used them. Money transactions, digital devices and communication records are also being examined vigorously so that more people in the racket can be identified.

The cyber department has issued a stern warning to all foreign medical graduates. It said they should not fall into the hands of any middleman and should not use such forged documents to avoid a mandatory examination like the FMGE. Doing so could expose them to strict legal action and put their careers at risk, it said.