Jaipur, March 26 -- The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police has arrested 18 accused, including former registrar of the Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC), Dr Rajesh Sharma, in a major crackdown on a fake medical certification racket, officials said on Wednesday. According to additional director general of police (SOG) Vishal Bansal, the action was initiated after a complaint regarding forged Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) certificates. Following a preliminary probe, an FIR (No. 34/2025) was registered, leading to the unearthing of a larger organised network. The investigation began with the arrest of Piyush Trivedi, who was found undergoing internship in Karauli district using a forged FMGE certificate. His interrogation led to the arrest of three more accused - Devendra, Shubham and Bhanaram - who allegedly facilitated the fake documents. Further probe revealed an organised gang that enabled illegal internships and registrations through the RMC using forged certificates, with the alleged involvement of the then registrar and staff. A second FIR (No. 08/2026) was subsequently registered in the matter. Officials said that over 90 such doctors have been identified so far who secured internships and registrations on the basis of fake FMGE certificates. The large-scale operation involved more than 21 teams, including SOG units in Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur, along with district police teams from Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Dholpur, Kotputli, Alwar, Jodhpur and Karauli, which carried out simultaneous raids at multiple locations. Among those arrested are former Rajasthan Medical Council registrar Dr Rajesh Sharma and then nodal officer Akhilesh Mathur. Investigators also found that one accused, Dr Yash Purohit from Udaipur, had been working at a private hospital using forged credentials. Preliminary findings suggest that officials and middlemen allegedly charged Rs.20-25 lakh per candidate to arrange fake internship and registration certificates. Of this, around Rs.11 lakh per candidate was allegedly taken by officials of the Rajasthan Medical Council, while the remaining amount was distributed among agents. The operation was conducted under the leadership of DIG SOG Paris Deshmukh and SP Kundan Kanwaria, with support from multiple field units. The investigation is ongoing, and efforts are underway to identify and arrest other accused involved in the racket, officials said. The SOG has also advised the public to verify the authenticity of doctors by checking their registration details on the RMC website....