PG Medical Seat Blocking Scam in Telangana: ED Uncovers Rs 100 Crore Cash Trail
Hyderabad: Investigating the alleged postgraduate medical seat-blocking scam in Telangana, the Hyderabad wing of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently claimed that it has detected a cash trail worth Rs 100 crore in this connection.
Allegedly, 12 private medical colleges of the State accused of the scam may have amassed this amount of Rs 100 crore between 2016 and 2022 by tampering with the admission process.
ED has claimed that it has detected a cash trail where money collected from the candidates was traced to the accounts of the medical colleges. It has further been alleged by the investigating officers that the money was indirectly siphoned to the key personnel within the management.
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the management society members of the concerned colleges will get a summon from ED next week for more details. During its recent raids at these colleges, the ED officials had seized voluminous documents.
Further, the central agency has also decided to summon the two sons of labour minister Ch Malla Reddy whose medical college is also under probe in the alleged scam. While Ch Bhadra Reddy holds the post of the chairman, Ch Mahender Reddy is the general secretary of the Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences.
Commenting on the issue, an ED officer said, "Our conservative estimate is that the colleges made Rs 100 crore from from the scam, but it could be much higher. We are scrutinising the documents."
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that investigating the alleged seat-blocking fraud and irregularities in the financial transactions, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials last month conducted searches at 12 medical colleges in Telangana. ED searched at altogether 16 locations looking for documents and evidence.
Allegedly, some medical colleges, which are affiliated with Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), sold the seats for higher prices by blocking them in a dubious manner last year.
ED started investigating the matter after the registrar of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Praveen Kumar filed a complaint at the Matwada police station in Warangal last year. Around 45 seats were allegedly blocked under the convenor quota or free seats, on the basis of the merit in the NEET PG examination, by using the names of students hailing from northern states of the country.
When the University authorities contacted the students, using whose names the seats had been blocked, it was revealed that they had never even applied for admission at KNRUHS. The University authorities thereafter became suspicious that some of the private medical colleges were involved in the fraud to transfer the blocked seats to the NRI quota in exchange for substantial financial gains.
University officials had identified discrepancies in the merit list of 45 applicants during the admission process. After probing the matter further, it was confirmed that these candidates never intended to seek admission to the colleges under KNRUHS. Because of these alleged irregularities, eligible rank holders from the State could not get admission to these medical colleges.
After the completion of the mop-up round and the last date of admission, these seats were reported to the university as vacant. These seats were classified as stray vacancies and private medical colleges had been allocated these seats for admission under the management quota.
Referring to this, an ED official told TOI, "These seats were allegedly sold at a premium ranging between 1 crore and 2.5 crore. We have seized documents, digital devices, and records of cash transactions."
Also Read: PG Medical Seat Blocking Scam in Telangana: Governor seeks report from KNRUHS
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the seat-blocking scam in Telangana, where the Governor had written to the Vice Chancellor of KNRUHS seeking a detailed report regarding the matter on an urgent basis.
The university authorities, while checking the ongoing admission process, recently found some "discrepancies" in the merit list with regard to 45 applicants (wherein seats were blocked in the names of students), who had applied for counselling for admission into postgraduate courses offered by private medical colleges.
Subsequently, the university authorities wrote to such students asking them if they had applied, but most students said they had not sought admissions (that they had not blocked the seats) at the KNRUHS.
Later, initiating action against the alleged seat-blocking scam, Matwada Police had booked a few private medical colleges of the State after receiving directions in this regard from Warangal Commissioner of Police. Apart from booking the colleges under Section 417 and 420 of IPC, the matter had also been referred to the National Medical Commission (NMC).
While considering a similar matter concerning the seat-blocking scam, the Telangana High Court had slammed the authorities of KNRUHS for encouraging a multi-crore PG medical seat-blocking scam and further observed it to be only the tip of the iceberg.
These observations were made by the HC bench while considering a case of a PG medical aspirant who lost her opportunity of getting admitted to her preferred course of PG dermatology because of seat had already been allotted to another student, allegedly as a part of the scam.
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