Dr Ketan Desai and two of his associates were arrested on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college.
Medical Council of India president Dr Ketan Desai, who was arrested by the CBI in Delhi on Thursday, has property in Mumbai too.
Desai and two of his associates were arrested on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college.The CBI is planning to strengthen its case by gathering maximum evidence against Desai. In a raid on Tuesday, CBI officers found a shop and an office space in Andheri in the name of Desai. He has five vehicles, including three luxury cars.
Simultaneous raids were carried out in nine places in the city. CBI officers have found gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs38 lakh in two bank lockers of Desai. “He owns properties in various cities across the country,” a CBI officer in Mumbai said. “We have seized incriminating documents and sent them to Delhi.
Nationwide searches are being carried out to ascertain the worthof his investments and properties.”
The CBI investigation has opened a Pandora’s Box with emerging evidence pointing towards a possible complicity of senior officials in the health ministry who were close to Desai. The investigations are focusing on his tenure as the MCI chief.
Desai became the council president in November 2009.
Over the years Desai acquired unbridled power within the MCI and developed strong connections in political circles, an officer said. The fact that he survived despite his spats with former Union health minister Ambumani Ramadoss is testimony to his power.
An investigating officer said that the names of a few health ministry officials have surfaced. These officials facilitated and possibly benefited from Desai’s dealings, he said. Investigations are on to find the other beneficiaries.
In 2001, Desai stepped down as the president of MCI after the Delhi high court indicted him on corruption charges. The charges pertained to evidence that Desai had received monetary benefits, which he had described as a gift. The court had then asked the CBI to prosecute him. CBI later filed a closure report sayng no case could be made out from the available evidence.
Investigators say Desai had been charging Rs6 to Rs8 crore for granting recognition to medical colleges. The rates varied for renewal of accreditations and other authorisations that the MCI grants.
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