Bengal To Reverify Degrees Of 1.1 Lakh Doctors Amid Fake Credential Row

The West Bengal government will verify the educational qualifications of 1.1 lakh doctors registered with the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) since 1996 following allegations of practitioners holding fake degrees, State Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said.

"A large number of fake doctors have been identified in our registration records. We will re-examine the credentials of all such individuals. The 1.1 lakh certificates issued to doctors by various universities will undergo a fresh verification process," Mukherjee said.

To conduct the audit across nearly three decades of medical registrations, the state will roll out a new verification mechanism handled by an external agency, while assuring that doctors will not face unnecessary hardship during the exercise.

"We are introducing a KYD (know your doctor) protocol modelled after KYC (know your customer) which will include both manual and video-based verification. All relevant documentation will be collected," the health minister said.

"For those who are elderly or live at a distance and are unable to travel, verification will be conducted via video conferencing. The entire process will be verified by a third-party agency. An official notification will be issued shortly," he added.

The decision sparked an immediate political exchange in the state, with the ruling BJP targeting the Trinamool over administrative oversight in the healthcare sector while it was in power.

"What has happened in the state once ruled by Trinamool, perhaps nothing like this has happened in any other state of India. It's the Diamond Harbour party's diamond model," Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said, referring to Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee and his constituency.

The Trinamool has criticised the BJP government over the announcement. Trinamool MP Saugata Roy dismissed the health minister's remarks and questioned the premise of subjecting doctors to a special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, referring to the electoral roll cleanup process that became a major flashpoint ahead of the assembly election earlier this year.

"I don't know what they are talking about. I don't even know Sharadwat Mukherjee, nor do I know anything about him. I have no idea what he's saying. It has never happened that a doctor undergoes SIR," Roy said.