Botad doctor accused in cash-for-job scam

Updated: May 18th, 2024


Proving that the desperate are easy prey, a doctor in Botad has been accused of cheating an unemployed man of Rs 13 lakh with the promise of a job in the health department. 

According to a complaint filed by one of his alleged victims, Dr Ashish Rathore pretended to be an employee with the Commissioner of Health, medical services, Government of Gujarat. Rathore said he was authorised to issue orders in the direct recruitment of data entry operators (Class 3). He then showed the petitioner, one Praveen Chavda, an appointment order bearing the signature of the additional secretary of the health department, and promised him a similar order in exchange for the Rs 13 lakh.

According to statistics presented in the Gujarat Assembly in February, Gujarat has 2,38,978 educated unemployed and 10,575 semi-educated unemployed persons. 

However, as previously reported by Gujarat Samachar Digital, the numbers on the ground are likely to be much higher. As much as 90% of rural medical positions lie vacant,  according to Rural Health Statistics data. Similarly, government data also says that there are more than 25,000 vacancies in the state police force, and Gujarat's schools are short of 32,000 teachers. Further, recruitment to government positions has been delayed in Gujarat since 2015 for various reasons. For instance, TET-TAT (Teacher Eligibility Test-Teacher Aptitude Test) graduates protested in Gandhinagar in 2023 over a new recruitment scheme, while LRD (Lok Rakshak Dal) aspirants protested in 2022 over an issue with the waiting list. 

In addition to Dr Rathore, Chavda’s complaint also names Laxmiben Rathore, Prabhaben Rathore and Kamal Rathore as co-conspirators.  

Botad District Superintendent of Police Kishore Baloliya said that the police are looking into the complaint, and that further action will be taken as needed. No crime has been registered yet. 

Chavda told Gujarat Samachar Digital that he is convinced that Ashish Rathore will flee the country with other people’s money unless the police apprehend him soon.

Also read:

Demand for Indian healthcare professionals to rise significantly by 2030: Report

‘Doctor’ practices for nearly 40 years on a fake MBBS degree, jailed

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