‘Medico’ posing as doctor at BIMS caught treating patients, inquiry ordered into lapses

BELAGAVI: A young woman, who claimed to be a post-graduate medical student and was unauthorisedly visiting various department at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) to treat patients over the last three months, was caught by a security guard on Thursday.

Following the incident, BIMS director Dr Ashok Shetty has ordered an internal inquiry by a three-member committee. The committee has been directed to look into the lapses and submit a report within one week.

The young woman, identified as Sana Sheikh who hails from Karwar, is a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout in Belagavi. Dressed in an white apron, she had been visiting the surgical ward, OPD and other sections of the hospital. If questioned by the hospital staff, she would drop the name of the BIMS director.

On Thursday, Sana Sheikh was caught by a security guard while giving treatment to some patients. The guard immediately brought the issue to the attention of the district surgeon and the resident medical officer. When questioned, Sana Sheikh claimed that she was a practising at a private hospital, but had been attending to patients at BIMS on the instruction of the head of one of the departments.