Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In the past 48 hours, as many as 4 quacks, or fake doctors, have been apprehended in the state. Of the 4 arrested, one is from Lakuwa in Charaideo district, one from Silchar, one from Kalain in Cachar district and the last one was apprehended from Kokrajhar.
Till now, a total of 57 quacks have been arrested. Significantly, 18 of them were arrested after Dr Abhijit Neog was appointed the Anti Quackery & Vigilance Officer of the Assam Council of Medical Registration (ACMR) in January 2025.
The quack arrested from Lakuwa is Abhishek Sha, who had been working as a medical officer at Nahorhabi Tea Estate, and he claimed to be a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS). In response to a query from Dr Abhijit Neog, the Office of the Odisha Council of Medical Registration (OCMR) replied that no such doctor bearing the registration numbers printed on the pad used by Abhishek Sha exists, bearing such a name. Interestingly, the fake registration certificate of Abhishek Sha comes from a council in Odisha that ceased to exist in 2017. This fake doctor did not just work as a medical officer at Nahorhabi TE but also conducted a private practice, duping countless patients in the rural Charaideo.
The quacks operating in Cachar district, Pankaj Choudhury in Silchar and Subir Choudhury in Kalain, were both arrested by Cachar police. The fourth quack, Anisur Rahman, was arrested in Kokrajhar.
For the uninitiated, quacks are people who do not have any knowledge of the allopathic system of medicine but still practise medicine, mostly in rural areas, with fake credentials. Such fake doctors were, in fact, found to be practising in Guwahati as well.
It is pertinent to mention here that a case (PIL/34/2023) has been going on in Gauhati High Court since 2023, and the court has from time to time issued orders seeking information from the state government regarding the action taken to identify the quacks in the entire State of Assam and prevent them from taking advantage of the gullibility of lesser-educated people, especially in the rural areas.
In an earlier order, the HC sought an affidavit to be filed by the state government on October 13, 2025, which should include information regarding the action taken against the quacks by the Anti Quackery Units.
The Director of Health Services, Assam, also filed an affidavit earlier, highlighting the action taken in each district of Assam to identify the quacks and the action taken against them. It is mentioned in the said affidavit that in almost each of the districts, the Anti Quackery Units are already formed, and they are regularly inspecting the clinical establishments in each district.
The Indian Medical Association’s Assam branch is also up in arms against the menace of fake doctors in the state. Though there are no exact statistics, IMA’s state branch said that, according to a survey, 11% of patients die at the hands of fake doctors in Assam.
Also Read: Kokrajhar Police arrest fake MBBS doctor in Health Service Scam
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