Munna Bhai AIIMS: How man who impersonated doctor was finally caught

For nearly five months, 19-year-old Adnan Khurram pretended to be a doctor from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and was seen enthusiastically participating in social events and protests, including the one organised by the resident doctors’ association against the National Medical Commission (NMC) bill.
“I met him for the first time in December when we were planning protests against the NMC bill. He was very active in all our meetings. We welcomed it because most doctors and MBBS students here are usually too tired after study and shifts to participate in volunteer activity,” said Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, president of the resident doctors’ association (RDA) at AIIMS.
Khurram actively participated in all meetings, protests and even a marathon organised by the RDA recently. He also allegedly used his fake RDA credentials to meet VIPs.
“He forced his way to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who came to AIIMS for treatment recently,” said Dr Bhatti.
It was his social participation in so many activities that raised suspicion among other doctors. “We were surprised that he could make it to all the events at AIIMS and even those organised by other medical organisations. He claimed to be a junior resident, who usually end up with 18-20 hour shifts. He used to hang out near the coffee shop or the doctors’ hostel every evening. We started wondering how he had so much time,” said Dr Bhatti.

There are around 2,000 resident doctors at AIIMS at any given time and new batches start twice a year in January and in July, making it difficult for doctors to keep track of each other. “So we decided to be thorough because no one was sure what course he was pursuing or which department he was in, he said different things to different people,” said Dr Bhatti.
The RDA decided to look at the records in the academic section, which maintains records of all students of medicine, including those doing MBBS, MD or DM. When his name wasn’t found in the academic records, the RDA checked with the finance department to see if he was getting a stipend as a resident doctor. Again, they found nothing.
When Khurram did not turn up at the administrative building after being repeatedly summoned, the security officer at AIIMS was asked to keep an eye out for him. Security officers caught him when he came for the marathon on Sunday and reported him to the police.

Khurram, however, did not attend classes or treat any patient. “He, of course, could not attend lectures because his name was not on the rolls and fellow students would have recognised him. He couldn’t even attend the out-patient department because doctors are usually allotted the examination rooms beforehand,” said Dr Bhatti.
Doctors said that such cases of impersonation were a serious security breach. “Apart from Adnam, we have caught three people over the past year pretending to be AIIMS doctors, usually to gain favour with other staff members for the treatment of family members or people who paid them. It is essential that AIIMS, being a premiere institute where several VIP patients come, should have a system like radio-frequency IDs that can identify all doctors and staff members,” said Dr Vijay Gurjar, a resident and former president of RDA.
-
Will respond to SC notice challenging Lavasa land purchase, says Supriya Sule
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on the special leave petition filed against Lavasa Corporation by Nanasaheb Vasantrao Jadhav and others challenging the Bombay High Court decision which had quashed the petitions challenging permissions granted to Lavasa Corporation to buy land for the project. NCP Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha Supriya Sule, who previously held share in Lavasa project, said, mP Supriya Sule will respond if any notice has been issued.
-
Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Sandhu’s killer among two held by Punjab Police
Punjab Police on Tuesday said it arrested two criminals, including one allegedly involved in the murder of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu in 2020. Also read: Fearing misuse, Punjab decides to go slow on anti-gangster act State director general of police Gaurav Yadav said both the accused, Gurwinder Singh and Sandeep Singh, were allegedly involved in cross-border smuggling of narcotics and weapons.
-
‘All JD(U) MPs, MLAs at consensus that…’: Nitish Kumar after his resignation
Soon after resigning as chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said all MPs and MLAs of the JD(U) are at a consensus that the party should leave the NDA. “All MPs and MLAs are at a consensus that we should leave the NDA,” Kumar after submitting his resignation to Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan following a meeting of his JD(U), where a decision was taken to quit the BJP-led NDA.
-
Karnataka Governor visits house of freedom fighters, honours them
Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot on Tuesday honoured three freedom fighters here on the occasion of the 80th Quit India Movement anniversary and Independence Amruth Mahotsav (75 years). The Governor was accompanied by Revenue Minister R Ashok and Higher Education Minister Ashwath Narayan. Gehlot, earlier in the day visited the residence of R Narayanappa, a freedom fighter and felicitated him, which was followed by a visit to Sankaranarayan Rao, an official release said.
-
Maha govt accepts proposal to reserve flats for LGBT community in Nagpur
The Maharashtra government has in principle accepted a proposal to reserve 72 flats in one of the three buildings of a housing scheme in Nagpur for the LGBT community. Social welfare department assistant commissioner Babasaheb Deshmukh added this was the first such attempt to create space for the community. He said Nagpur Improvement Trust has constructed the flats and they are ready for possession. Deshmukh said it will be the first dedicated housing scheme for the community in Maharashtra if approved.