Fake doctor row: Belle Vue Clinic's Pradeep Tandon quizzed

In connection with the arrest of a fake doctor from his Entally clinic on Friday, according to an officer privy to the investigation, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday recorded the statement of Pradeep Tandon, the chief executive officer of Belle Vue Clinic.

The CID officers arrested one Dr Naren Pandey on Friday from his diagnostic centre at Entally in Central Kolkata when it was learnt that the person was a fake doctor who was also attached with Belle Vue Clinic in the city. A chamber was also allotted to him at the OPD of the clinic.

On Saturday, the investigators questioned Pradeep Tandon about the recruitment of the accused person at their organisation.

"We learnt that Tandon was present in the interview board while Naren Pandey was recruited in the clinic as an asthma specialist which Pandey informed us during the interrogation," said a CID source.

Police also came to know that the accused person was recruited in the clinic in May 2004 and was doing his job without any hindrance. Interestingly, nobody doubted on his capability too.

It may be recalled this is the first such case in which a fake doctor has been arrested red-handed when he was practicing in a clinic in the heart of the city.

The CID officers took him to Bhawani Bhawan for further interrogation on Friday. The investigating officers have seized his visiting cards and other documents from his chamber. The CID had initiated a probe on the basis of a complaint lodged with Bidhannagar South police station and came to know about the fake doctor. On Saturday, the accused person was produced before Bidhannagar additional chief judicial magistrate court and remanded to police custody.

"We saw his visiting card in which it was clearly written 'MD' after his name. Some foreign degrees were also mentioned there. The name of Belle Vue Clinic was also mentioned there. The accused person also confessed to us that he is not an MBBS doctor," said an investigator.

Pandey claimed that he had undergone some trainings which gave him the authority to prescribe medicines to patients.

"We have started to examine his prescriptions and some other documents kept in his chamber at his Entally diagnostic laboratory," the investigators said.

However, the CID is likely to interrogate some other officials of Belle Vue Clinic in connection with the case. The investigators would record their statement and match it with the accused person's statement. A face-to-face interrogation with the accused person and the top officials of the clinic is also likely to take place soon.