Mumbai Hemali Mehta, a 32-year-old Girgaum resident, was hopeful that a doctor who her 70-year-old father had been told about, could heal his legs and help him walk again. To her shock, however, the doctor turned out to be an impersonator who cheated her of ₹2,70,000 by way of fees. The D B Marg police have registered a case of cheating and are on the lookout for the scamster and his accomplice.
The complainant lives with her father Dinesh, 70, and mother Geeta, 63, and works at the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Bandra Kurla Complex. Dinesh, after a surgery in the last week of September, had trouble walking. “He was approached by an unknown person, who handed him the number of a doctor called R Thanawalla,” said a police official. “The stranger told him that a relative of his had faced a similar problem, which was cured by the doctor. On the father’s request, Hemali contacted Thanawalla, who told her that he was from Pune and visited Mumbai and Delhi once or twice a month only to examine senior citizens.
“On September 30, Thanawalla visited their house, and after examining Dinesh, informed the family that he was bilious, and if the acid was removed from his body his nerves could be freed. With the help of a pin and some triangular instruments, he extracted some blood from her father’s legs and told Hemali that those were blood clots formed due to bile,” said the police officer.
The fake doctor quoted ₹4,000 per clot as his fees. “After negotiations, they agreed on ₹3,500 per clot. The doctor started working and claimed to have removed 90 clots. As Hemali had only ₹2,70,000 in cash at home, she paid that much,” added the police officer.
The doctor left the place hurriedly, claiming that he also had to visit Nepean Sea Road and Bandra to attend to two other patients. “While leaving, he told Hemali to refrain from mentioning the treatment to anyone for the next 15 days in order to avoid the evil eye,” said the police officer.
When the ‘treatment’ failed to bring about an improvement in Dinesh’s condition, Hemali called the doctor again, but found that his phone was switched off. “She realised then that she was cheated and approached us,” said the police officer. “We have registered a case of cheating under Section 420 and Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The person who posed as a doctor was between 40 and 45 years old while his assistant was between 25 and 35. We are trying to trace them through their mobiles and looking for CCTV footage that could have captured them.”