‘Chemist’ held for referring 40 people to fake South Delhi clinic
New Delhi, November 19
The Delhi police have arrested a “fake” chemist who sent over 40 people for surgeries to the Agarwal Medical Centre in South Delhi.
Probe had revealed that “doctors” at the hospital performed medical procedures on patients without possessing the necessary degrees or authorisation.
The suspect has been identified as Julfiqar (42), a resident of Prahladpur, who ran a clinic-cum-medicine shop in Sangam Vihar. The police said that Julfiqar used to sell homeopathy and allopathy medicines without a valid licence.
On Tuesday, the police had arrested Neeraj Agarwal, his wife Pooja Agarwal, Mahender (ex-lab technician) and Jaspreet, who fabricated surgery notes of planned surgeries by unqualified individuals.
As per the police, eight people had died during and after the medical procedures, while one patient lost her uterus at the hospital.
On interrogation, Julfiqar told the police that he contacted Neeraj Agarwal after he found his number written on a card that was distributed by some boys in Sangam Vihar.
“Neeraj agreed to give Julfiqar 35 per cent commission for each patient he referred. Julfiqar referred patients in need of operation such as stone removal or delivery to Aggarwal’s clinic,” said Chandan Chowdhary, DCP (South). Payments from Aggarwal to Julfiqar were made through phone transactions linked to his mobile number.
“Their association spanned for approximately five years. The latest referral was Asgar Ali, who passed away during treatment,” the DCP added.
Julfiqar had referred around 40 to 50 patients to Aggarwal for various treatments, including delivery, abortion, and stone operations.
According to the police, on October 10, 2022, a woman from Sangam Vihar had filed a complaint alleging that her husband underwent gallbladder stone removal at Agarwal Medical Centre on September 19, 2022. Initially, Agarwal claimed that surgeon Jaspreet Singh would perform the surgery. However, just before the surgery, they were told that due to some emergency, Jaspreet would not perform the operation.
The surgery was then done by Mahender Singh along with Agarwal and Pooja. In her complaint, the woman said that later, it was discovered that Mahender Singh and Pooja were fake doctors.
The complainant added that her husband experienced severe pain post the surgery and had to be rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital where he was declared dead.
Seven complaints were filed with the Delhi Medical Council against the Agarwal Medical Centre for negligence leading to patient deaths. — IANS
Took 35% commission from facility
Neeraj Aggarwal — who was arrested on Tuesday for performing surgeries without being qualified to do so — gave the suspect, Julfiqar, 35% commission for each patient he referred. Julfiqar referred patients in need of operation such as stone removal or delivery to Aggarwal’s clinic. — Chandan Chowdhary, DCP (South)
