During trial proceedings, Sharma absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by a court on December 15, 2016, after not appearing in hearingsA 52-year-old man posing as a doctor from Haridwar, and affectionately called “Doctor sahab’ by locals in the Uttarakhand city, was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch after a decade-long search, officers said Friday.Police said the accused, Raj Kumar Sharma, was allegedly living under a false identity and posing as a doctor affiliated with AIIMS, Rishikesh. He is wanted in two separate cases of cheating and forgery registered in Delhi.Police said Sharma was first booked on March 23, 2007, under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery committed with the intent to cause cheating), 471 (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine), and 120B (criminal conspiracy). He was among six people arrested for duping government banks by taking vehicle loans on forged documents.During trial proceedings, Sharma absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by a court on December 15, 2016, after not appearing in hearings.In the second case, Sharma duped two individuals of Rs 14.10 lakh in 2015 by selling a plot using forged property documents.“He first tried to compromise with the victim and issued a cheque of Rs 26 lakh from a bank account, which was already closed by him several years ago. Thereafter, the complainant approached the police. Feeling pressure from the complainant and the police, he vacated the house overnight in 2015 and, after changing his identity, settled in Haridwar. He could not be traced or arrested and was declared a PO by the court concerned,” said DCP (Crime Branch) Sanjeev Yadav.After fleeing Delhi, police said Sharma constantly changed his identity, appearance, addresses, and phone numbers to avoid arrest, said police. He settled in Haridwar and began living as a doctor, gaining the trust and respect of locals.Story continues below this adUpon arrest and questioning, he allegedly admitted to evading police over the years. Police also discovered that he had no legitimate medical qualification linked to AIIMS.According to the police, Sharma was born in 1973 in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. He completed his BA from Meghalaya University and has one son and one daughter.Before turning to fraud, he ran monthly magazines and newspapers in North Delhi’s Burari area. At present, he claimed to have no steady source of income and was relying on ancestral agricultural earnings for survival, said police.Following his arrest, Sharma was brought to Delhi, and the police stations concerned — Roop Nagar and Burari police stations — have been informed of necessary legal proceedings.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd