Doctors play an important role in society. They care about patients and give them proper treatment in a bid to restore patients’ health back to normal. Even in critical condition, doctors give their heart out to save the lives and that’s why they are considered second to God in India.
But not all doctors deserve this respect and not all doctors have our best interest. Numerous cases of fraud, cheating and deceit have come forward after people took it to social media or traditional media to express how doctors cheated them for money.
Such a case has emerged from Pune where a doctor allegedly cheated a 58-year-old woman of Rs 1.47 crore by lying to her and telling her that she was suffering from a liver ailment, and then cancer, and taking the money for her “treatment” over the last few months.
The woman, Sushma Jadhav, works as an auditor at the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers). She informed the police about this case at the Wanavdi police station.
Based on Jadhav’s complaint, police have booked the doctor, identified as Vidya Dhananjay Gondras, a resident of Wanavdi, under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
This year in June, Sushma suffered from a medical condition, after which she consulted doctor Vidya again for the treatment. However, she told that her clinic is being closed now and she has collaborated with a Canada-based Ayurvedic organisation, which successfully treated many patients in the city.
The woman started her treatment without undergoing any medical tests as the doctor claimed that she is suffering from a dangerous liver disease called ‘liver ascites’ which can even kill her if left untreated.
The complaint stated that Sushma continued paying for the medicines given in red, green, black and white plastic bags. When she allegedly asked about the names of the medicines she was consuming, the doctor showed her some pictures in her phone of the liver disease and threatened stopping medication midway will lead to death.
Few months later in September, the accused claimed that Sushma had cancerous tumours on the upper portion of her liver. However, they may be treated with an Ayurvedic treatment. Meanwhile, Sushma kept paying through cheques. When she ran short of money, she asked her husband to transfer around 7 lakh money to her account. Sushma’s husband who is a lawyer grew suspicious about the medical condition and asked Gondras to show the treatment reports and tests.
The doctor immediately refused to show them the reports and told that until the entire treatment is over, she can’t show any treatment report. This is when the Jadhavs realised they have been bluffed by the doctor on account of fake treatment. Meanwhile, police have filed the report against the accused doctor and seized her bank accounts.
