The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has arrested 36 doctors over three days, including 15 from Kathmandu, on charge of possessing fake credentials.

According to the CIB, 35 of the doctors had produced fake certificates of Bihar Intermediate Education Council (BIEC) while one was practicing illegally without licence from the Nepal Medical Council (NMC)—a government body that regulates doctors and medical education in the country.  

With its latest action, the CIB has arrested a total of 52 doctors since it launched ‘Operation Quack’ this February. The CIB had arrested 17 doctors in February. Following an elaborate investigation, their medical licences have been annulled by the NMC.

The CIB on Sunday made public the names of the doctors, including Chief Executive Officer of Kantipur Dental College Dr Buddhi Man Shrestha. Dr Jabed Akhtar Ansari, former Associate Professor of BPKIHS was arrested after he was found working on NMC registration number of another doctor.    

Apart from Kathmandu, a person each was arrested from Sunsari, Dang, Jhapa and Kaski while nine were arrested from Parsa; two from Lalitpur; three from Morang; four from Chitwan and two from Dhanusha. The majority of the doctors who were arrested on Friday have since been brought to Kathmandu for further investigation.

Superintendent of Police Debesh Lohani, spokesperson for the CIB, said the arrests were made following a joint investigation with the Nepal Medical Council and the Higher Secondary Education Board.

The arrested doctors were produced before the Kathmandu District Court and remanded to custody for further investigation. The CIB has also appealed the public to report to the CIB if any of the arrested doctors have incurred harm to the any patients.

High-level sources at the CIB confirmed that 109 of the total 900 doctors who were subjected to investigation are found to have possessed fake higher-secondary certificates. All of them will be arrested in a week, they said.

Among the arrestees, there are no records of 14 doctors at the BIEC, while 16 doctors are found to have increased their marks. Similarly, two doctors do not have any records, while three of them had appeared in an examination under different names.

NMA tells docs to suspend works to verify papers

KATHMANDU: Amid the scandal caused by the arrest of several doctors for allegedly using fake academic credentials to study medicine, the Nepal Medical Association (NMA) on Sunday issued a statement which urges all doctors in the country to suspend their duties until the concerned government body has verified their academic certificates. “We urge all doctors working inside Nepal to first verify their certificates before resuming the services,” reads the statement. NMA President Dr Anjani Kumar Jha said the debate over who is a genuine doctor has affected the entire medical fraternity. “We want to assure the patients that the doctors who treat them are genuine,” he said.