Uttarakhand MBBS seat fraud: SIT arrests 2 over alleged fake certificates, govt orders medical colleges to verify documents
Dehradun: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttarakhand Police has arrested two people in connection with the alleged submission of fake freedom fighter and domicile certificates during the NEET-UG 2025 admission process to secure MBBS seats.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has directed principals of all 10 government and private medical colleges participating in the counselling to verify the documents.
The arrested persons include the owner of an educational consultancy firm in Meerut and the father of a NEET aspirant who is a resident of Bahadurpur Khadar village in Haridwar district. The arrests are the first in the case, according to a Hindustan Times report.
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.
Speaking at a press briefing in Dehradun, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Dobhal told Hindustan Times that the SIT, headed by SP (Rural-1) Jaya Baloni, has seized important documents in the course of the investigation.
The documents were recovered in connection with two cases registered on September 13 at Raipur and Clement Town police stations. The Raipur and Clement Town police stations registered FIRs against the four accused students under Sections 318(4), 338 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Govt orders Verification of NEET-UG Candidates' Documents
Amid the incident, 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.
The direction has been issued after the completion of the second round of NEET-UG counselling, in which another 300 candidates secured MBBS seats. With this, a total of 784 students have been admitted through the first two rounds of counselling, according to official data. The first two rounds were conducted between August 13 and September 19.
The third round of counselling reportedly depends on the verification of the documents, as an official told TOI that the third round will be taken up only after the verification of state-quota documents is completed. Any seats that become vacant because an admission is cancelled will be included in the third round, which is scheduled to be held from September 28 to October 9 as per the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) schedule.
A social activist, who has been raising the issue, met State Health and Medical Education Minister Uniyal on Friday 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. He maintained 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.
Commenting on the issue, Dr Ashutosh Sayana, director of the medical education department, said, "Students have secured admissions to the colleges of their choice, but their colleges will have to verify their documents now to proceed to the next process. We have written to all the principals to do the needful to enable the next round."
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that certificates of eight candidates had been cancelled after being found forged by the district administration. He warned that, apart from cancellation of the certificates, stringent action would be initiated against those involved, as the matter amounted to cheating in examinations.
