Rawatpura Medical college bribery case: CBI uncovers massive bribery scam involving senior officials, retired bureaucrats and godman ‘Rawatpura Sarkar’

In what is being described as one of the biggest medical scams in the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has, so far, named 35 individuals, including senior government officials, former bureaucrats and a self-styled godman, in its FIR. The scam is related to obtaining illegal approvals for sub-standard medical institutions and is spread across the states, including Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

The massive scam was unearthed by the CBI at Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SRIMSR), in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The agency had reportedly received some complaints regarding some officials of the National Medical Commission (NMC) accepting bribes for preparing favourable inspection reports for substandard medical institutions to help them secure approval.

CBI laid a trap to nab the culprits

To nab the individuals involved in the bribe scam, the CBI conducted raids at more than 40 locations across 6 states, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi on 1st July. Subsequently, the agency laid a trap and caught red-handed six individuals, including three doctors, in Bengaluru accepting a bribe of Rs 55 lakh in lieu of issuing a favourable inspection report for the institute.

The CBI reportedly recovered Rs 38.38 lakh from an aide of the inspection team head and Rs 16.62 lakh from the residence of another official. The bribe was planned and collected through hawala channels and was then distributed among the individuals in the inspection team. Along with the Rawatpura Institute, 40 other medical colleges across the country have come under the agency.

An FIR was filed by the CBI against 35 individuals, including the chairman of the Rawatpura Institute, Ravishankar Maharaj, who is popularly known as ‘Rawatpura Sarkar’ and director Atul Tiwari for offering a bribe to a team of the NMC for granting approval to the institute and allowing expansion of seats.

Rawatpura Sarakar, the tainted self-styled godman

Ravishankar Maharaj, or ‘Rawatpura Sarkar’, is a spiritual figure popular in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. His list of followers has the names of several ministers, politicians, and bureaucrats. Ravishankar was born in Chipri village of Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on July 12, 1968. He was the eldest among his five siblings. It is said that he was spiritually inclined since childhood and did not go to school.

At the age of 11, Ravishankar Maharaj left his home and set out on his spiritual journey, which started in a Hanuman temple in Rawatpura village (Lahar, Bhind, Madhya Pradesh). From there, he came to be known as ‘Rawatpura Sarkar’. He developed Rawatpur Dham as his spiritual centre, which gained popularity with time.

Later on, he established Rawatpura Sarkar Lok Kalyan Trust in 2000. Several schools, colleges, hospitals, blood banks, nursing colleges and old-age homes are run by his trust. Shri Rawatpura University, Raipur and Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SRIMSR), Raipur, have also been set up under the trust.

This is not the first time that Ravishankar Maharaj’s name has come up in a controversy. His trust has been accused of receiving undue favours in government schemes, road access projects, and electricity subsidies. Allegations of land encroachments, running unapproved colleges, forcing students into religious participation, and even mental harassment of female followers inside ashrams have also been levelled against him.

Retires IFS, former UGC chairman, among accused

The list of persons accused in the case, includes some high-profile names, including D P Singh, Chancellor Tata Institute of Social Sciences and former UGC Chairman (2018-2021), Dr CN Manjappa, Professor and HOD (Orthopaedics) at Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences and his associate Dr Suresh from Bengaluru, and Mayur Rawal, Registrar, Gitanjali University, Udaipur. Besides, three members of the NMC inspection team, namely, Dr Chaitra, Dr P Rajni Reddy, and Dr Ashok Shelke, have also been named as accused.

The name of Jitu Lal Meena, a former full-time member of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), is also mentioned in the FIR, which says that he acted as a middleman and misused his influence to extract bribes. Another prominent name in the FIR is Sanjay Shukla, a former IFS officer, who is a trustee of the Rawatpura group. Shukla has served as the chairman of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and was a former head of the Chhattisgarh Forest Department and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF).

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