Seventeen people who ran clinics across Rajkot district without any recognised medical qualification are under arrest. Teams of the Rajkot Rural Police, led by its Special Operations Group, raided clinics in Shapar, Jetpur, Jasdan, Patanvav and several other towns, district Superintendent of Police Vijaysinh Gurjar said, according to DeshGujarat and GSTV. Police say the accused were giving allopathic treatment with no degree and no licence. Most had studied only up to Class 10 or Class 12, and a handful were graduates.
From medical-store counters to their own clinics
Investigators found a common path. Many of the accused had worked as helpers at chemist shops, hospitals or clinics, picked up the names of common drugs and injections, and then opened practices of their own, both outlets reported. GSTV said police seized medicines and other material worth about Rs 3 lakh from the clinics. DeshGujarat reported that two of the accused had allegedly been practising for two decades or more, while others had opened their clinics only months ago.
Police have registered cases against all 17. Neither report lists the specific charges.
Why Shapar, Metoda and Jetpur
The map of the raids follows Rajkot’s factory belt. Shapar-Veraval and Metoda GIDC are engineering clusters, and Jetpur is known for its dyeing and printing units, all of which employ large numbers of migrant and daily-wage workers. The rest of the list, Jasdan, Paddhari and Kotda Sangani, is rural. A worker who loses a day’s pay to visit a hospital, or a village family far from a government doctor, goes to whoever is nearest and cheapest, and these clinics set up where that demand is.
A wrong prescription is only part of the risk. Someone without training cannot recognise when a fever or chest pain needs a hospital, and a patient who feels better after a quick injection may delay the treatment they need.
The district has seen this before
This sweep is larger than usual, but the problem is familiar. In August, Rajkot city police held a former compounder for running a clinic on Gondal Road, Medical Dialogues reported. In September, Surat police picked up eight bogus doctors in one operation, DeshGujarat reported. Arrests clear individual clinics, yet new ones open as long as cheap, nearby care stays scarce.
Patients can protect themselves with one question. Every practising allopathic doctor must be registered with the Gujarat Medical Council or the National Medical Commission, and a registration number can be checked on the NMC’s online Indian Medical Register. A practitioner who cannot show one should not be treating you.
Sources: DeshGujarat, GSTV, Medical Dialogues
This report was written with AI assistance from the publicly reported sources linked here; each fact was cross-checked against at least two of them.