Worli sr PI suspended for lapses in doc’s arrest

Mumbai: A senior Worli police inspector was on Monday suspended for not following proper procedure before arresting orthopaedic surgeon Dr Atul Wankhede, accused of forging his medical degree and administering wrong treatment to a patient, on April 23.A senior police officer told TOI that the senior inspector, Ravindra Katkar, didn't present the file to senior authorities to seek permission to arrest the doctor.Worli police had arrested Dr Wankhede, who is attached to Nanavati Hospital in Juhu, on a complaint filed by a food delivery agent. Police said he was arrested for allegedly practising medicine with fake degrees, endangering patients' lives, threatening individuals, and misusing personal documents to fraudulently obtain official IDs and a passport.On May 3, a team from Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) had met senior police officers to highlight that the arrest at 1.30am on "seemingly untrue charges, filed by a disgruntled patient, has raised concerns about the due process followed by the investigating officer". The doctors said AMC, an association of 14,500 consultants, had verified Dr Wankhede's credentials and found them to be valid and approved by Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC).Dr Wankhede's counsel Karan Mehta and advocate Vyas Bhikhalal had earlier said he is an MBBS doctor and challenged the legality of the arrest on grounds of non-compliance of statutory provisions. Dr Wankhede has never used a fake degree to get employment, Mehta said, adding that his advanced orthopaedics qualification is recognised by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and MMC. On April 30, a magistrate court granted Dr Wankhede bail.Katkar had led the investigation into the arrest of Sena leader's son Mihir Shah for knocking down a fishermen couple in July 2024.