NEW DELHI (TIP): In a countrywide crackdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested five people possessing medical degrees from Russia and China and obtaining recognition from Medical Council of India through allegedly fraudulent means. CBI said based on information gathered, FIR had been filed against eight people who claimed they had medical degrees from Russia and China.

At least three of the doctors, who had allegedly got a forged registration from MCI, were working in government hospitals in Gujarat, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. The CBI has also registered case against unnamed officials of MCI and some other individuals. CBI conducted raids at the premises of a Meerut medical practitioner who was allegedly a conduit between MCI officials and the potential candidates coming from these countries.

According to CBI, those arrested told the agency that they paid upto Rs 20 lakh for getting registration from MCI. Government has made it mandatory for screening test of medical students from erstwhile USSR countries and China to be eligible for medical practice in India. CBI alleged these candidates had colluded with MCI officials who gave them permission to practice in return for illegal gratification even as the doctors did not fulfill the necessary parameters.

CBI sources said they would interrogate the accused on the role of officials in MCI, who are giving these fake registrations. Sources said more arrests are likely. The registration documents recovered during searches on Thursday would be sent for CFSL examination and files would also be taken from MCI. CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who is personally monitoring the case, said, “This is a very important case as such people were playing with the lives of patients.”