Durgapur, Oct. 26: A man who allegedly failed to complete his MBBS from NRS Medical College and Hospital practised as a general physician for 14 years, ran a nursing home and became an assistant secretary of the Bengal branch of the IMA before being caught out.

Supriyo Bhaduri set up a nursing home near Durgapur station 14 years ago and practised medicine allegedly using the registration number of a doctor in Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.

Police have started a case of cheating and forgery against him following a complaint from the Durgapur chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). “He is absconding. We will arrest him soon,” said R. Rajsekharan, the Burdwan superintendent of police.

At a news conference today, the Durgapur chapter of the IMA charged Supriyo with cheating and fraud.

Physicians registered with the IMA said Supriyo was the assistant secretary of the Bengal branch of the association. In 2003 and 2004, he was the secretary of the IMA’s Durgapur branch. The IMA felicitated him with the best performance award in 2004. “He was very polite and helpful. We can’t imagine the man could do such a shameful thing,” said an IMA member.

Mihir Kumar Nandy, chairman of the IMA’s coalfield co-ordination committee, said: “Supriyo Bhaduri had borrowed over Rs 2 lakh from some of our members but did not repay. Some of the members began doubting if he was a genuine physician. We carried out an inquiry and found that the registration number he was using belonged to gynaecologist Ramkrishna Acharya at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.”

The matter was taken to the state medical council, which issues registration numbers to doctors. Nandy said: “The council wrote to us saying that Supriyo Bhaduri was not a registered physician.”

“He (Supriyo) took admission at NRS Medical College in 1984-85 but left within one and a half years. We are surprised how he continued practising for so long,” Nandy said.

Supriyo refused to speak when contacted over phone. “I have nothing to say. I am not practising now and out of Durgapur. Please leave me alone,” he said.