39 fake doctors performed surgeries, ran clinics in Kerala over 5 years

Kottayam: As many as 39 fake doctors have been exposed in the state over the last five years. This list includes individuals who even performed keyhole and open surgeries, as well as those who posed as gynaecologists for over seven years. Some were nabbed while running their own clinics.

According to statistics from the State Medical Council and the State Crime Records Bureau, these individuals worked as doctors in various government and private hospitals across the state between January 2020 and June 2025.

According to these records, the impostors examined patients using forged certificates in modern medicine, Indian systems of medicine, and homoeopathy. Most of them were exposed after patients grew suspicious about the ineffectiveness of their treatments.

Some of the fake doctors had studied only up to Class 10 or pre-degree. One individual, who had enrolled for medical studies abroad but failed to complete the course, began practising without qualifications. Another, who worked as a Resident Medical Officer, was caught after botching both keyhole and open surgeries.

In another case, a woman who worked as a gynaecologist at a taluk hospital for seven years was booked following the death of a newborn. Though an MBBS graduate, she had secured the post by producing a fake diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Homoeopathy too was not spared, with two fake practitioners arrested in that field. Despite the alarming number of such cases, police have so far been unable to trace the source of the counterfeit certificates.