01 September,2010 07:41 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
With similar stories being reported from other cities as well, cops are investigating if there is a connection between these cases.
For those who think the only robbery that happens in hospitals is the hefty bill, here is an update.
Hospitals are turning out to be the favourite hangout of conmen who rob patients by posing as hospital staff or relatives of other patients. And this is proving to be a nationwide phenomenon.
Such an incident happened in the city on Monday where Padmamma, a 65-year-old woman who is undergoing treatment at St Johns hospital, was robbed off her money and valuables worth Rs 1 lakh.
Enter imposter
The thief posed as a doctor and asked her daughter-in-law KR Ramya to accompany him to the ground floor so that he could give her the test report. When they reached the entrance of the hospital, he asked Ramya to wait and disappeared in the crowd.
When he didn't return for long, she sensed some foul play and rushed to her mother-in-law. She found that Padmamma was in a semi-conscious state and her faced was covered with a towel. Soon she realised that Padmamma's gold chain and bag were missing. Ramya has filed a complaint with the Koramangala police station.
A 'general check-up'
After Padmamma came to, she said that the 'doctor' returned few minutes later and pricked her neck with a needle, saying that he was only doing a general check up, following which Padmamma slipped into a slumber.
The man took away her gold chain and a kit bag lying next to the bed. The bag contained Rs 7,000 in cash, ATM cards, car keys, pen drives and a memory card.
Ramya informed the para medics immediately and even rushed to the security staff to close the main gates to stop the imposter.
But the security staff was reluctant, stating that they have to get instructions from the authorities.
Investigations on
Ramya and her husband, Srinath, who is a mechanical engineer, brought the lapse in security to the management's notice.
"We were fortunate that the conman did not harm my mother. If this can happen in the secure St Johns hospital, imagine the state of other hospitals as anyone can walk in and walk away with valuables," he said.
u00a0
The Koramagala police have registered a robbery case and have takenu00a0 a description of the conman from Ramya.
"We are questioning the security staff and the shopkeepers in and around the hospital with a sketch of the suspect," Police Inspector Nagraj K said.
But it looks like this is not just an isolated incident. There have been reports of similar incidents of con doctors across the country.
Ramya rushed to the security staff to ask them to close the main gates to stop the imposter.
However, they were reluctant and said they have to get instructions to that effect from the authorities
Similar Incidents
Goa
One such case was reported in in February at Goa Medical College in the maternity ward. According to patients admitted for delivery, two Hindi-speaking men wearing apron robbed the mangalsutras from two women. A case was registered with the local police station.
Delhi
The Delhi police arrested 24-year-old Aman Deep on August 25 for posing as a medical practitioner at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to steal valuables from the premises.
Pune
Four such incidents have taken place this year in the city, prompting the police to issue a directive last week to all hospitals that they should increase security and report all such offences. Now, Pune Police are considering these cases in order to verify if the same person is behind all these cases or if they are somehow connected.
Inputs from Kaumudi Gurjar
