(Representative image)

MUMBAI: The Agripada police on Saturday made the first arrest in the case where several specialist doctors were found to have procured fake post-graduation degrees from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS).

Dr Snehal Subhashchandra Nyati (44), a Nashik resident, has been booked under various Indian Penal Code sections of cheating, forgery, breach of trust and using fake documents as genuine.

The police said more arrests will follow as the number people involved in the scam is more than 100, including 58 MBBS students who procured the fake degrees for their post-graduation courses from CPS.

"Nyati has blamed her accomplices. A total of 58 MMBS students paid Nyati Rs 5-6 lakh and others to procure fake certificates," said an officer.

The Maharashtra Medical Council stumbled upon the scam nearly a year ago, triggering a statewide probe spanning over the last six months. It found several MBBS graduates had submitted fake marksheets and degree certificates, claiming to have successfully completed their fellowship and diploma programmes from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS). When the degrees were double-checked with the Parel-based CPS, it was found that the candidates had failed their exams.

The two-year diploma and three-year fellowship degrees awarded by CPS are equivalent to MD and diploma degrees granted at medical schools.

Most fake degrees were of sought-after courses such as diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics, diplomas in ophthalmic medicine, general surgery and cardiology , fellowships in surgery, medicine.

During scrutiny, the council found that between January 2015 to October 2015, 58 MBBS students had submitted fake marksheets and degree certificates claiming to have completed their fellowship and diploma programmes from CPS. Following this, in April, the council suspended the licences of 20 specialists, including surgeons, paediatricians, radiologists and gynaecologists, as their certificates were found to be fake. The council found that the doctors had procured the passing certificates despite having failed in the exams conducted by CPS. The council had hinted at the involvement of an insider as everything on the degrees was genuine-from emblem to ink to paper, said the police.

