Former Madhya Pradesh health officer booked over fake MBBS degree after 16 years

Former block medical officer (BMO) of Birsa Community Health Centre in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, who held the post for the past 16 years, has been booked for securing the government employment using a fake MBBS degree, police said on Saturday.

According to officials familiar with the matter, Sunil Singh, the former BMO, was removed from the post in June after a state health department inquiry found he had a fraudulent degree.

He was then posted at a primary health centre in Damoh, and has been on leave since July.

Balaghat has been in the news for the deaths of 32 children from the Baiga tribal community since May 18, of which seven died during Singh’s tenure.

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On Friday, the Supreme Court termed the deaths “most unfortunate” while hearing a petition filed by a local resident and sought responses from the Centre, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh governments on providing compensation for the victims.

The state government has attributed the deaths to Measles Rubella and Malaria and announced financial assistance of ₹2 lakh each for the bereaved families.

Balaghat superintendent of police Aditya Mishra said: “The health department of Madhya Pradesh conducted an inquiry following a complaint filed about five months ago. The probe team found he had a fraudulent degree. The department issued an order on October 9 directing that an FIR be filed against him. Following which, the FIR was registered on Saturday.” A case was registered under Sections 318(4) (cheating), 340(2) (forged documents) and 336(3) (forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.