CBI unearths massive bribery and inspection scam in private medical colleges, senior officials from Health Ministry, NMC, UGC under lens: Read what the FIR says
On 30th June, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a First Information Report (FIR) exposing an entrenched nexus of bribery, forgery and manipulation within India’s medical education regulatory ecosystem. The CBI registered the FIR based on information received from an unnamed reliable source.
The scam involves senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the National Medical Commission (NMC), and private medical institutions across multiple states. One of the accused named in the FIR is DP Singh, former UGC chairman and current chancellor of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
Around 40 accused have been booked under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with Sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The charges include criminal conspiracy, bribery, forgery, and unlawful disclosure of confidential information.
Top officials facilitated inspection leaks and document tampering
According to the FIR accessed by OpIndia, public officials based in Delhi from both the MoHFW and the NMC conspired to leak confidential regulatory documents related to medical college inspections, recognition and renewals. Officials behind such leaks include Poonam Meena, Dharamvir, Piyush Malyan (Section Officer), Anup Jaiswal, and Chandan Kumar.
The disclosures made by the accused officials enabled colleges to stage fraudulent compliance measures, including the deployment of ghost faculty, falsified biometric attendance, and even admitting fake patients to meet the norms set by the NMC.
In the FIR, it has been stated that some officials allegedly photographed internal ministry files and forwarded them via personal mobile phones to middlemen linked to private medical colleges. Virendra Kumar from Gurgaon, Manisha Joshi from Dwarka, New Delhi, Suresh Singh Bhadoria of Indore, Udit Narain of Kanpur, Joshy Mathew of New Delhi, and Mayur Raval of Rajasthan have been named as the recipients of these documents. The CBI pointed out that there could be more such recipients.
Former UGC chief named in FIR, bribes routed to religious construction
The FIR has listed D P Singh for his alleged role in the racket. Other prominent figures that have been named include the Chairman of Index Medical College, Indore, Suresh Singh Bhadoria, and the Registrar of Geetanjali University, Udaipur, Mayur Raval.
Virendra Kumar has been accused of working closely with Dr Jitu Lal Meena, who was a whole-time member of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). During the investigation, it was revealed that bribes collected by Kumar on behalf of Meena were routed through hawala channels. A portion of the bribe money, around Rs 75 lakh, was allegedly used to fund the construction of a Hanuman temple in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The payment for this was reportedly made to one Bhikalal, a resident of Dausa, via unaccounted cash transfers.
Southern India network ran parallel bribery and fake faculty operation
Kumar’s influence was extended to the southern states as well via his associate Dr B Hari Prasad, who is based in Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh. Prasad allegedly operated as a consultant to several colleges. He organised dummy faculty to clear NMC inspections and facilitated Letters of Renewal in exchange for money.
Dr Ankam Rambabu in Hyderabad and Dr Krishna Kishore in Visakhapatnam were partners in Prasad’s network. In one case, Krishna Kishore collected Rs 50 lakh from the Director of Gayatri Medical College in Visakhapatnam to resolve a matter pending with the NMC. A share of the amount collected was reportedly paid to Virendra Kumar in Delhi.
Furthermore, over Rs 4 crore were allegedly paid to Hari Prasad for favourable treatment by Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences in Warangal. The money was routed via formal banking channels but intended to bribe NMC functionaries.
Fake degrees, cloned fingerprints and staged inspections
In the FIR, the investigating agency has accused Index Medical College of maintaining fake and non-existent faculty who were passed off as full-time employees. The biometric system used for tracking attendance was allegedly tampered with by cloning fingerprints to simulate full staffing levels.
Furthermore, the Chairman of the college, Suresh Singh Bhadoria, is accused of issuing fake degrees and experience certificates through Malwanchal University, its parent body. These were purportedly used to deceive regulators and meet faculty experience requirements.
Bribes paid days before inspections, NMC assessors involved
Among the accused, Rawatpura Sarkar alias Ravishankar Maharaj has drawn attention as he is linked to top politicians, ministers, and bureaucrats. The CBI accused his institutes of receiving undue favours. The FIR stated that Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Raipur, at the behest of its Chairman, Ravishankar Maharaj, was involved in a conspiracy to obtain confidential and advance information regarding a forthcoming official inspection.
In the FIR, the CBI has cited one of the recent incidents where the Registrar of Geetanjali University, Mayur Raval, allegedly informed an official from Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SRIMSR), Atul Kumar Tiwari, about an upcoming inspection scheduled for 30th June. Raval allegedly demanded Rs 25–30 lakh and disclosed the names of the four-member team of the NMC.
The FIR stated that Atul Kumar Tiwari acted in collusion with Raval and procured the information unlawfully. Furthermore, Ravishankar Maharaj allegedly sought the help of D P Singh to persuade the members of the inspection team to give a favourable report in lieu of the bribe.
On the day of inspection, Dr Manjappa C N of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences, who was part of the inspection team, allegedly struck a deal with Tiwari. He coordinated the bribe collection via hawala, and the money was distributed via a Bengaluru-based associate to the assessors, including Dr Chaitra.
The FIR further pointed out that Raval conspired with the Project Head of Teehinfy Solution Pvt Ltd of New Delhi, Randeep Nair, and unidentified officials of the NMC and received illegal gratification from various medical colleges. In exchange, they extended undue favours, including the unauthorised sharing of sensitive and advance information pertaining to scheduled physical inspections by NMC assessor teams.
The FIR noted that Nair and his associates approached medical colleges including Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Sciences & Research in Kalol, Gujarat, National Capital Region Institute of Medical Sciences, Meerut, UP, Shyamlal Chandrashekhar Medical College, Khagaria, Bihar, and others to pass information about inspection teams, including details and inspection dates, in advance. This enabled the involved colleges to fabricate compliance, including arranging proxy or ghost faculty.
CBI points to systemic rot and regulatory collapse
In the FIR, the CBI observed the extent of malpractice and stated that the acts committed by the accused “undermine the integrity of the regulatory framework and jeopardise the quality of medical education and public health standards in the country”. The agency noted how systemic corruption allowed institutions to stage artificial compliance during inspections that were meant to ensure standards in teaching quality, infrastructure and patient care. The agency noted that officials were not only complicit in these activities but also profited from them directly.
Wider crackdown expected, more arrests likely
With around 40 officials, intermediaries and institutional heads already named, it is an indication that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The CBI is expected to summon and interrogate several individuals as it is currently tracking the money trail in both northern and southern states.
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