Doctor's licence taken away - four years after he assaulted two girls

A doctor who indecently assaulted two teenage girls has been struck off the medical register, fours years after his conviction.

Paedophile Rajendra Shukla, 59, failed to attend the hearing held by the General Medical Council, which deemed him unfit to practise.

The council heard how Shukla, who was living in Streatfield Road, Kenton, at the time of his arrest, was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court in 2004 of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old and a 14-year-old girl. He was ordered to pay £3,200 and was placed on the sex offenders register.

However, it has taken the General Medical Council four years to remove his licence which allows him to be a GP.

The council also heard how Mr Shukla breached the terms of his suspension by performing 28 surgical procedures over a five-month period. In spite of receiving a warning from Harrow Primary Care Trust he visited a 91-year-old woman at home to give her medical advice while he was still suspended.

Shukla was also found guilty of drink driving in 1998 and then lied about it to Brent and Harrow Health Authority, stating he had no criminal convictions. Harrow PCT would not confirm which practice Shukla worked at.

Ralph Bergmann, chairman of the panel, said: "The panel has determined that Mr Shukla's criminal behaviour towards two young females represents an abuse of the special position of trust Mr Shukla held, and that this amounts to a fundamental breach of the principles that are central to Good Medical Practice.

"Mr Shukla dishonestly completed and signed a declaration stating that he had no criminal convictions and that the information he had given was true, when he did in fact have a conviction for drink driving.

"The panel also noted that Mr Shukla breached the terms of his suspension by performing no fewer than 28 surgical procedures on numerous occasions over a five-month period. He again breached the terms of his suspension but this time his actions resulted in adverse consequences for an elderly, frail patient."

The panel, which met in September, concluded that Shukla's name should be erased from the register with immediate effect.

Mr Bergmann said: "Mr Shukla's behaviour violated standards. The public is entitled to expect that their doctor is fit to practise and follows the GMC's principles of good practice."