Uttarakhand MBBS admission fraud: 3rd accused arrested, Rs 5.5 lakh cash recovered
Dehradun: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttarakhand Police, which is investigating the MBBS admission fraud involving the use of fake freedom fighter dependent certificates to secure admission to state medical colleges, has arrested another accused in the case.
The accused is reportedly a consultant with a private firm in Bhopal that facilitates admissions to private medical, engineering and computer application courses. He was arrested on Thursday. His arrest takes the total number of arrests in the case to three, including the alleged mastermind.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Singh Doval told PTI that the accused's name emerged as an agent during the interrogation of the alleged mastermind of the alleged scam, arrested three days ago.
While searching the accused's vehicle, approximately Rs 5.5 lakh cash was recovered, which was received from the mastermind in exchange for securing MBBS admissions under the freedom fighter quota.
After his arrest, the accused, during interrogation, revealed that he runs an office in Piplani, Bhopal, through which he facilitates admissions, on a commission basis, for courses such as MBBS, BTech, BCA, BBA, and BCom at various private universities.
According to the police, the two met in Uttarkashi two years ago and have remained in contact ever since.
The SSP said that after the father of a candidate arrested in the case contacted the mastermind to secure MBBS admissions for his daughter and the children of two other acquaintances, he subsequently spoke to the accused regarding the matter.
Doval said the accused discussed the matter with another individual who, while providing information about admission under the freedom fighter quota in Uttarakhand, arranged a meeting with an acquaintance known to have “good connections” within the tehsil and the court administration.
The officer said the accused along with the mastermind and other associates, allegedly facilitated the creation of forged “freedom fighter dependent” certificates for three candidates using fabricated documents, which were then used to secure MBBS admissions at various medical colleges across the state.
The SSP said SIT is thoroughly investigating all aspects of the case, and the strictest possible action will be taken against all the accused involved.
How the scam came to light:
The MBBS fake degree case came to light after cases were registered on September 13 at the Raipur and Clement Town police stations in Dehradun.
These cases concerned separate candidates who had applied online via the ‘Apni Sarkar’ portal for freedom fighter dependent certificates using forged documents, which were subsequently found to be fake during verification.
An SIT was subsequently constituted under Dehradun Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jaya Baloni. Preliminary investigations revealed that the addresses listed in the accused candidates’ documents were incorrect.
The SIT then visited the respective educational institutions, seized all documents related to the accused, and gathered information regarding their actual addresses.
The SSP said the mastermind and the accused father were arrested on September 21 based on evidence gathered during the investigation.
During interrogation, the mastermind revealed that he sought Rs 45 lakh to secure MBBS admission for each candidate, with Rs 20 lakh collected as an advance payment.
Background
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that altogether five individuals, including four female students, were booked for allegedly using fake documents to obtain MBBS seats under the Freedom Fighters' Dependants quota in Uttarakhand. Taking action against the four female students, the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has cancelled their MBBS admissions. After this, the entire process of issuing and verifying such documents came under scrutiny.
Recently, the SIT arrested two people in connection with the case and the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has directed principals of all 10 government and private medical colleges participating in the state counselling process to verify the documents of candidates who claimed any category or sub-category benefit during NEET-UG 2025 admissions.
A social activist, who has been raising the issue, met State Health and Medical Education Minister Uniyal and submitted the list of around 350 candidates, demanding a detailed investigation into their certificates. He clarified that he is not claiming that certificates of all candidates on the list are fake but said that available records and admission-related information raise suspicions regarding these cases, necessitating official verification of the documents.
In response, Uniyal said that the government is taking the matter seriously. Suspecting the involvement of a major racket, he has directed the Dehradun District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within a week.
While investigating the matter, the Dehradun District Magistrate, in its inquiry, found two revenue sub-inspectors responsible for alleged negligence in verifying documents before issuing the disputed certificates to medical students and accordingly suspended them.
Also read- Uttarakhand MBBS admissions fraud: 2 officials suspended over certiticate verification lapses
