A major fake degree racket came to light in Dehradun in February 2023 when the city police recovered more than 600 forged academic certificates, exposing how unqualified individuals were practicing medicine using counterfeit credentials. The seizure followed an extended investigation into bogus Ayurveda doctors operating across Uttarakhand and neighboring states.
The recovery was carried out by the Dehradun Police Special Investigation Team, which described the case as one of the most serious academic fraud operations uncovered in the region in recent years. Officials said the fake degrees posed a direct risk to public health, as many holders had been treating patients without proper training.
During a raid conducted in February 2023, police recovered forged degrees, mark sheets and registration certificates linked to universities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi. Investigators also found documents claiming affiliation with Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine, raising concerns about the misuse of foreign university names to lend credibility to fake qualifications.
According to senior police officials, the documents included Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degrees, academic transcripts and forged Medical Council registration papers. Many of these certificates appeared professionally printed, making it difficult for patients to identify fraud.
The investigation identified Imlakh Khan, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, as the alleged kingpin of the racket. Police arrested him after tracking his movements across states following earlier arrests of his associates.
Before Khan’s arrest, authorities had already taken his brother Imran into custody along with two men who had been practicing as Ayurveda doctors in Dehradun using forged degrees. Police said these individuals had been seeing patients for years before their qualifications were questioned.
Investigators revealed that fake BAMS degrees were sold for amounts ranging between ₹5 lakh and ₹6 lakh. One accused from Tehri Garhwal district admitted during questioning that he purchased a counterfeit degree in 2017 and began practicing immediately after.
Police also recovered 75 forged medical registration certificates, indicating attempts to bypass verification systems and make the credentials appear legitimate to authorities and employers.
As the probe widened through 2023, police identified at least 36 suspected fake Ayurveda practitioners in Uttarakhand who allegedly obtained degrees through the racket. By the time of the major seizure, nine people had been arrested, with more suspects under surveillance.
Officials said further arrests were likely as verification of seized documents continued with universities and regulatory bodies.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)
