Disability quota fraud: 3 doctors arrested in Karnataka MBBS admission scam

Soon after, two more government doctors, residential medical officer at Hosapete Subdivision Hospital, and a paediatrician at Kamalapur Government Hospital, were also arrested.

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Police further nabbed a first division assistant (FDA). He is accused of validating medical certificates and issuing UDID cards for several candidates - seven during March and April, and another 13 on July 9 at Hagaribommanahalli Government Hospital, where he was transferred. Another hospital staffer, Ashok, suspected of fabricating disability IDs, is currently on the run.

According to Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) officials, at least 21 MBBS aspirants submitted fake medical certificates claiming hearing disabilities to obtain the UDID cards. During the seat counselling, the KEA officials found that many of these certificates carried identical signatures and were fake. 

Upon investigation, 21 students were flagged for having suspicious documents. When questioned, these students admitted that Dr Sudhakar had provided them with the fake cards.

Digging deeper, the police found evidence that these doctors in rural areas reportedly issued the fake UDID cards to these aspirants for MBBS admission under the reserved disability category. 

A senior health department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TOI, "There is high demand for MBBS seats, particularly govt seats, with costs running into crores of rupees. As a result, some candidates resorted to obtaining fake UDID cards to secure seats under the disabled quota. Many of these students sought help from doctors in rural areas, as urban government doctors were reluctant to engage in such fraudulent activities."

KEA director H Prasanna confirmed that such cases were detected and warned that students caught using fake certificates will be barred from the admission process, along with other severe consequences. 

District health officer (DHO) Dr LR Shankar Naik claimed that 20 candidates with fake certificates originated from Bengaluru, and that the hospitals in Hagaribommanahalli and Hosapete merely issued the UDID cards.

Contradicting this statement, a senior physician from the DHO office, speaking on condition of anonymity, questioned the apparent negligence: "Why didn't these doctors realise their subordinates weren't authorised to issue UDIDs?" he asked.

Supporting this view, information from the DHO office casts doubt on the legitimacy of the 13 cases in Hagaribommanahalli as the hospital lacks an ENT specialist or a medical officer capable of issuing UDIDs.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Kavita S Mannikeri told TOI, "An investigation is currently underway and the DHO has submitted a detailed report. The district administration is closely monitoring the entire situation."