TASK FORCE SEARCHES DOCTOR'S HOME AND OFFICES

Inspection Of Records Is Part Of A 2-Year Investigation Into City
Physician's Prescription-Writing Practices.

More than two years after opening an investigation into the
prescription-writing practices of Indianapolis physician Amarjit Bains,
authorities on Friday searched her two offices and Northeastside home to
inspect medical records.

Hours after the search, a detective in the case said the investigation
centers on claims that Bains, 55, is not prescribing controlled substances
and drugs in good faith, and that some of her patients are addicts or
people who are giving fraudulent explanations for needing pain pills, cough
syrup or nerve pills.

Rene Conder, an Indianapolis Police Department detective who is part of a
multi-agency team investigating the case, said some pharmacists have
refused to honor prescriptions written by Bains.

Among the evidence being sought in Bains' home and offices, Conder said, is
proof of Medicaid misuse and improper storage of narcotics in an unapproved
location, and whether Bains is following Indiana law that requires her to
keep detailed records.

Besides a police investigation, Bains is under review by the state medical
licensing board, said Sgt. Roger Tuchek, an IPD spokesman.

Bains is a self-described pain management specialist who was granted a
license to practice in Indiana in July 1980, according to medical records.

The searches were conducted early Friday by a multi-agency task force at
Bains' offices in the 5700 block of East 38th Street and the 4500 block of
North Franklin Road in Lawrence, as well as her waterfront home in the 9200
block of Promontory Circle.

Bains was unavailable for comment Friday, but her husband, Amharaj, said
the practice was not shut down. He said she has done nothing wrong.

Bains' attorney, Paul J. Page, said the investigation is the result of a
misunderstanding.

"The nature of Dr. Bains' practice is that it is pain management, and (the
idea) has not been around a long time. I think patients, authorities and
other physicians don't have a firm grasp of what the nature of that
practice is. That's part of it. This will be an education process."

Page added: "What the police department is doing isn't the best way of
going about it."

Conder said the investigation began in 1999, but this was the first time a
search warrant was issued. A November investigation by WISH-TV (Channel 8)
questioned the doctor's methods regarding dispensing prescriptions for
highly potent drugs.

In a related matter, Bains filed notice Jan. 10 with the city of
Indianapolis of her intent to sue Conder over what Bains claims were
defamatory statements made by the detective as part of the Channel 8 story.

City lawyers declined to comment on the tort-claim notice Friday.