A woman from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh died on 6 December 2025 after a fake doctor and his nephew attempted abdominal surgery by following a YouTube tutorial. The case has triggered shock, police action and renewed concern about quack clinics operating openly in rural areas.
The victim, 38 year old Munishra Rawat, had been suffering from stomach pain. On 5 December, her husband, Fateh Bahadur Rawat, took her to a local clinic named Shri Damodar Aushadhalaya in the Kothi police station area. The clinic owner, 48 year old Gyan Prakash Mishra, claimed she needed immediate surgery for stones. No tests were carried out. The family paid him 20,000 rupees of the 25,000 rupees he demanded.
Investigators later learned that Mishra and his nephew, Vivek Kumar Mishra, did not have any medical qualifications. They were allegedly intoxicated when they began the procedure on 6 December. As the operation progressed, they used a smartphone to watch a YouTube tutorial and tried to copy what they saw.
Instead of treating Munishra, they made deep cuts, severed nerves and caused heavy bleeding. Her condition worsened rapidly. The family rushed her to a government hospital, but she could not be saved. A post mortem later confirmed she had no stones. The report noted massive internal bleeding caused by the cuts made during the illegal operation.
Munishra’s husband said he trusted the clinic because it had been operating in the area for years. He had no idea that the men running it were untrained. He said his wife screamed in pain during the procedure and that he begged the men to stop, but they refused.
Following his complaint, Barabanki police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, medical negligence and charges under the SC ST Act. The clinic has been sealed and evidence such as the phone used for the tutorial has been seized. Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya confirmed that both accused fled after the incident. Police teams are conducting raids to arrest them.
A 15 year old boy from Bhualpur village in Saran, Bihar, died in September 2024 after a quack attempted surgery on him while following a YouTube tutorial. The teen, Krishna Kumar, had been taken to a local clinic with stomach pain.
The untrained practitioner, Ajit Kumar Puri, began an invasive procedure without tests or consent and relied on videos on his phone to guide him. Krishna’s condition collapsed during the operation. He was rushed towards Patna but died on the way. The doctor abandoned the body and fled. Police sealed the clinic, filed a case and launched a search for the accused.
(Rh/ARC)