Telangana Seat Blocking Scam: Private medical colleges booked, KNRUHS increases Exit Fee

Written by Barsha Misra Published On 2022-04-23T09:30:58+05:30 | Updated On 23 April 2022 9:30 AM IST

Telangana Seat Blocking Scam: Private medical colleges booked, KNRUHS increases Exit Fee

Hyderabad: In the latest update regarding the alleged PG medical seat blocking scam in Telangana, police have booked several private medical colleges of the State under Section 417 and 420 of the IPC. The matter has also been referred to the National Medical Commission (NMC) which may take disciplinary action against the colleges.

Meanwhile, the Director of Medical Education (DME) of Telangana Ramesh Reddy has informed the media yesterday that not a single seat was taken by the seat blockers as the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) was quick to identify the discrepencies.

In order to put an end to the issue of seat blocking, the University authorities have informed about their decision of increasing the exit fee for vacating seats from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

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.

Also Read: Seat Blocking: Doctors move SC seeking permission to appear in NEET PG Mop-up Round

There are 33 medical colleges under the jurisdiction of KNRUHS, comprising nine government colleges, 20 run by private managements and four minority colleges.

As per the latest media report by the New Indian Express, initiating action against the alleged seat blocking scam, Matwada Police have booked a few private medical colleges of the State after it received directions in this regard from Warangal Commissioner of Police Dr Tarun Joshi. The colleges have been booked under Section 417 and 420 of IPC.

Previously, the registrar of KNRUHS, Dr. D Praveen Kumar had complained before the Commissioner and stated that some of the top rank holders from Bihar, UP, Maharashtra had blocked some seats in private medical colleges.

While commenting on the matter, the ACP of Warangal K Giri informed NIE that the evidences submitted by University were inadequate for probing the matter. He also stated that they were trying to contact the police of other States. Besides, the special teams that have been given the responsibility of probing the matter may be sent to the private medical colleges and also approach the residences of students whose names had been used for blocking the seats.

The University authorities on the other hand have discovered that 25 private medical colleges allegedly involved in this alleged seat blocking scam. While responding to a question about the action being taken against the students, KNRUHS registrar D Praveen Kumar told NIE, "We do not have the authority to take action. After the police inquiry, the report would be submitted to the government, which will take appropriate action."

Further mentioning that the issue has been referred to the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI), now NMC, the authorities further mentioned, "The MCI can issue a notice to the erring medical college and even cancel their licences. Their response is awaited."

Meanwhile, the Government authorities have clarified before the media that not a single PG seat got taken away in Telangana by any seat blocker.

Such clarifications came from the University while the Director of Medical Education (DME) Telangana Ramesh Reddy was facing the media yesterday. TOI adds that during the Press Conference the DME of the State explained that the issue of seat blocking only came to light because of the swift action on the part of KNRUHS, which readily identified the attempts for blocking seats. He also informed the media that during the counselling on March 16, around 14 top rank holders from other states had applied for admission in PG medical seats of KNRUHS.

"Out of this 10 had joined and the remaining four did not. Later, when the central government reduced the cut off percentage, the university issued notification to register new admissions. During this 20 people with good ranks registered," he informed the media. Even though 20 such people had registered for the counselling, only 4 of them joined it.

It was only when the University contacted the remaining 16 candidates they found out the shocking truth that five of them had not even applied for admission. Spekaing about the matter, Dr. B Karunakar Reddy, the Vice-Chancellor of KNRUHS informed TOI that, "The moment we got to know about the (seat blocking) issue, we wrote letters to all students stating the university would take legal action against them if they were were found involved in the case, and also informed the National Medical Council."

In order to ensure that such seat blocking scams are not repeated in future the University has decided to enhance the exit fee for students who vacate the seats after completion of final round of counselling. The penalty amount, which was Rs 5 lakh until now, will be increased to Rs 20 lakh and it may later get increased to Rs 50 lakh.

Providing more details regarding the alleged scam, the KNRUHS Registrar D Praveen Kumar told NIE, "With the permission of the Health Minister T Harish Rao , we started an enquiry and called the top rankers. Five of them replied through e-mails, stating that they have bagged seats in their original States (Bihar & Maharashtra). They also stated that they had not submitted any original certificates in Telangana."

The daily further adds that the email conversations with the top rank holders was forwarded to the Health Minister and following the directions of the Minister, the Commissioner of Police lodged a complaint against some of the toppers. After completion of the PG counselling on May 3, the officials will be able to confirm if those toppers had been used for blocking PG medical seats in Telangana.

"If they don't want a seat in Telangana , as per the government norms they have to pay Rs 5 lakh. But now the exit amount is Rs 20 lakh per student. If the 35 students exit after the last counselling, they will be punished and agents or private medical colleges will also come under scanner," added Kumar.

Also Read: PG Medical Seat Blocking Scam in Telangana: Governor seeks report from KNRUHS

pg seatspg medical seatpg medical seatsPG seats scamPG medical admission scamNEET PGKaloji Narayana University of Health SciencesknuhsknurhsKaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences

Source : with inputs

Barsha Misra

Barsha completed her Master's in English from the University of Burdwan, West Bengal in 2018. Having a knack for Journalism she joined Medical Dialogues back in 2020. She mainly covers news about medico legal cases, NMC/DCI updates, medical education issues including the latest updates about medical and dental colleges in India. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.