Uttarakhand medical education dept cancels MBBS admissions of 4 students over fake freedom fighter quota certificates
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has cancelled the MBBS admissions of four female students after certificates submitted by them under the Freedom Fighter Dependent Quota were found to be fraudulent during verification,
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the accused students had been booked. After five individuals, including four students, were booked in Uttarakhand for allegedly securing MBBS admission through fake freedom fighter dependent certificates, the entire process of issuing and verifying such documents came under scrutiny.
According to the Medical Education Department, the certificates of five candidates applying under the freedom fighter dependent quota were found to be suspicious. After verification by the district magistrates of the respective districts, these certificates were confirmed to be fake, and the admissions granted based on them were cancelled.
As per the PTI report, Senior journalist and social activist Pradeep Bahuguna, who claims to have exposed this issue, said that the matter is not limited to freedom fighter dependent certificates alone, and raised concerns over the domicile certificates as well.
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The administration has constituted a committee, headed by the Dehradun chief development officer (CDO), to investigate these allegations.
Medical Education Director Ashutosh Sayana stated that during the NEET-UG counselling process in Uttarakhand, doubts were raised regarding documents related to five seats under the freedom fighter dependent quota. He had mentioned that the certificates were subsequently verified by the district administrations of the districts where they had been issued.
"In all five cases, the certificates were found to be fake and were declared invalid. The admissions of the candidates who had secured seats based on these certificates have also been cancelled," Sayana had said. He added that suspicions have arisen regarding some other certificates as well.
According to the Medical Education director, complaints have also been received concerning the documents of eight candidates in the Scheduled Caste category; university officials have been instructed to grant admission in such cases only after the certificates have been verified by the respective districts.
Speaking to PTI, Bahuguna noted that NEET counselling was underway from August 13 to August 19. According to him, certificates for approximately eight to ten individuals under the freedom fighter dependent quota were issued around August 18-all in a single batch. He said this raised suspicion.
"If a candidate already knows they intend to avail the benefits of this quota, having the certificate issued during the very final days of counselling raised questions for me," he said.
According to Bahuguna, he subsequently began verifying the certificates using the state government's portal and official records. Citing a specific case, he explained that documents identified an individual as a freedom fighter and listed the names of his dependents. Bahuguna claims he cross-checked this information against Collectorate and Treasury records but could not verify the relevant details.
He subsequently lodged a complaint with the district magistrate and the Minister for Medical Education. An administrative inquiry found five certificates issued under the freedom fighter dependent quota to be forged.
He claimed that certain domicile certificates are also suspect and that a large number of candidates may have secured admission to medical seats under Uttarakhand's state quota based on such documents. He has raised suspicions regarding approximately 200 cases, although neither the administration nor the Department of Medical Education has independently verified this figure so far.
Now, the Medical Education Department in Uttarakhand recently took stringent action against an admission scam involving candidates who used fraudulent credentials to secure medical seats.
Speaking to ANI about the crackdown in Dehradun on Thursday, Director of Medical Education Ashutosh Sayana confirmed that the MBBS admissions of four female students have been officially annulled after they were found to have submitted fraudulent papers under the Freedom Fighter Dependent Quota.
"... In Uttarakhand, NEET counselling is conducted entirely online and in a transparent manner. Candidates’ merit and results are displayed on the official website. Five candidates were identified as having suspicious certificates. The matter was immediately referred to the relevant district authorities, and the certificates were cancelled,” Ashutosh Sayana said.
Taking a serious view of the breach, Formal First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against the accused students and their family members at the Clement Town and Raipur police stations in Dehradun .
Sayana said, “In the serious case, FIRs have also been registered against the accused students and their family members at Clement Town and Raipur police stations in Dehradun under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 318(4), 338 and 340, pertaining to cheating and forgery of documents.”
Providing context on the timing of the crackdown, Sayana noted that the second round of counselling is underway and the academic session has not yet commenced, meaning the students had not yet begun their classes. “The second round of counselling is currently underway, and the academic session has not yet started, so the students have not begun their studies. At the college level, certificates are physically verified at the time of admission.”
Uttarakhand Medical Education Director stated that certificates submitted by candidates who have benefited from Uttarakhand’s NEET counselling will be physically sent to the issuing authorities.
“Going forward, certificates submitted by candidates who have benefited from Uttarakhand’s NEET counselling, whether based on domicile or any other category, will be physically sent to the issuing authorities for verification,” Ashutosh Sayana said.
