The hospital con: Swindler robs school teacher’s family at Ayub Medical Complex

Gold ornaments, Rs30,000 worth of cash and three mobiles stolen

ABBOTABAD:

A schoolteacher and his family were robbed of cash and valuables on Saturday evening by a swindler who was pretending to be a doctor.

According to Javed Anwar, the principal of Government High School for Boys Najaf Pur, the incident occurred when he went to visit his ailing mother who had been admitted at Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad. Anwar was talking to the media on Sunday.



Anwar was at the hospital’s entrance with three women from his family when he was approached by a man who introduced himself as Dr Afzal. Since the man greeted him at the gate in Hindko, the schoolteacher mistook him for one of his students. According to the schoolteacher, the man offered to make a hospital card for him and assured Anwar he would be able to get free medicines.

“The man asked me to accompany him to the office where the cards are issued and requested the women to stay in the waiting area.” He added, “I was taken to the hospital cafeteria where the man ordered tea for me. He then left the room on the pretext of getting the hospital card made and asked me to wait there.”

In the meantime, the swindler known as Dr Afzal went to the waiting area and told the schoolteacher’s family to accompany him to the ward where Anwar was waiting for them. He asked the schoolteacher’s family members to accompany him to the elevator. However, Afzal insisted they put away their jewellery, mobile phones and cash in a bag as the rays from the elevator could damage their property, said Anwar.



According to the schoolteacher, the swindler took their belongings and disappeared. He added gold ornaments weighing over 10 tolas, Rs30,000 worth of cash and three mobiles were stolen.

CCTV footage showed the man fleeing the site in a car. The schoolteacher filed a case and police are searching for the culprit. According to hospital administration, there is no doctor bearing the swindler’s name on their staff list.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2014.