MUMBAI, Sept. 24 -- The memory of that icy December morning in 2018 continues to haunt Padma Shri Dr Raj Bothra. At 81, the surgeon who once moved with presidents, popes, and prime ministers says the moment is etched on his soul. "The knock at the door, the FBI agents storming in, wrenching me away from decades of healing, philanthropy, and cross-continental bridge-building-it all replays in my mind in a relentless loop. I don't think it will ever go away," he admits. That was the day his life-a story of medical brilliance and tireless service-collapsed. On Tuesday, he revisited that moment in Mumbai while speaking at the launch of his searing memoir USA v Raj. The event, attended by actors Anupam Kher and Tusshar Kapoor (a family friend since 1989), also announced a film adaptation helmed by acclaimed cinematographer-turned-director Ravi K Chandran. Kabir Bedi will play the elderly Bothra, with Ankur Bhatia portraying his younger self. Emily Shah, of Jungle Cry fame, will essay the role of his daughter Sonia. For the world, Bothra was never just a doctor. A pioneer in interventional pain management, he set up the Nargis Dutt Foundation, worked with the Mother Teresa Foundation and led public health campaigns on tobacco, AIDS, and alcoholism. He built bridges between India and the USA, treating patients across borders and earning the trust of leaders and ordinary citizens alike. American presidents, Indian prime ministers, Mother Teresa, and even Pope John Paul II had sought his counsel or medical expertise. His Padma Shri, awarded during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, was just one among a constellation of honours that seemed to assure him a secure place in history. Then came the fall. "All of that counted for nothing the day I was led away in handcuffs," he recounts. The FBI charged him with 54 counts of healthcare fraud and related crimes, each carrying a possible 20-year prison sentence. The backdrop was America's raging opioid epidemic, a public health crisis characterised by a significant increase in opioid addiction, misuse, and overdose deaths, linked to the prescription of opioid pain relievers. By 2018, it had claimed over 400,000 lives and fuelled national fury. Under pressure to show results, prosecutors turned doctors into convenient scapegoats. Pain specialists-once lifelines for the chronically ill-were swiftly vilified. Immigrant physicians with thriving practices were easy prey. Bothra was among them. Treating complex pain often meant prescribing opioid pain medication, but nuance had no place in the courtroom. "I was an easy target," he said. "A brown immigrant doctor, successful, outspoken, and unwilling to play the game." Overnight, his reputation lay in ruins. For 1,301 days-nearly four years-Bothra sat in prison, his practice dismantled, accounts frozen, family isolated. Prosecutors pressed him to plead guilty and cut his losses. He refused. In June 2022, a jury of 12 acquitted him on every count. The government's case-built on hysteria, selective data, and shaky testimony-crumbled. Freedom returned but the scars endure. Tuesday's launch in Mumbai, where he had once studied medicine and practised at Bombay Hospital before leaving for the US, was more than just a book release. It was also a homecoming. "In captivity, my faith, my family, and my culture became my lifelines," he reflected. Yet, USA v Raj is not just a memoir of survival. It is also an indictment of a system. "I wrote the book to alert ordinary Americans," Dr Bothra explained. "If someone like me, with knowledge, connections, and resources, could be crushed by prosecutorial zeal, what chance do common citizens have? Next time, it could be anybody." The parallels with India are not lost on him either. "Our Constitution provides safeguards but they must be implemented with diligence," he said. For a man once celebrated as a healer and later vilified as a criminal, the memoir and forthcoming film mark an act of reclamation. In telling his story, he exposes not only the fragility of reputations but also the perils of weaponising justice. His ordeal reminds us of a brutal truth: in times of crisis, even healers can be sacrificed for headlines....