Andhra Pradesh cops unearch Rs100 crore scam in medical entrance test

A probe ordered by governor E S L Narasimhan after President's Rule was imposed in Andhra Pradesh has unearthed a Rs100 crore paper leak scam in the Post-Graduate Medical Entrance Test conducted by the Vijayawada-based Dr NTR University of Health Sciences.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh Police on Tuesday booked a case in connection with the alleged irregularities in the exam.

"The CID has registered a case on charge of cheating and under other relevant sections of IPC and AP Prevention of Malpractices and Unfair Means Act, and has begun its probe," director general of police B Prasada Rao said.

The state government had on Monday ordered a CID inquiry into the alleged irregularities in PG Medical Entrance Exam, after a one-man committee, headed by State Council of Higher Education Chairman, L Venugopal Reddy, constituted to look into the issue submitted its report to Governor E S L Narasimhan.

A team of CID visited the university and questioned some officials and inquired whether they had any role in the allegations being levelled by aspirants.

Around 15,000 students took the examinations held on March 2 for the 2,240-odd seats. Of the total seats, around 1500 belong to government medical colleges. However, hundreds of students had complained that some candidates had secured top ranks though they had failed in some subjects in graduation, besides some others performed poorly in PG entrance exams in other states.

The Reddy inquiry committee was set up by the governor following complaints from students that the question papers were leaked and results were rigged, besides other irregularities in the exam process conducted by the NTRUHS. The committee conducted a public hearing at Nagarjuna University, Guntur, and recorded the complaints and allegations of students. It expressed serious doubts about 11 students who secured top ranks in the PG medical entrance exam despite poor performance in the MBBS examination, and in some cases had obtained graduate medical degrees from China and other foreign countries.

Andhra Pradesh police suspect a Rs100 crore scam in leaking of the exam papers of the NTR health university which led to failed students of Medicine getting ranks. Each PG seat in private colleges cost as much as Rs one crore, say police investigators.

The CID officials who split into ten teams traced the leakage during the processing of the question papers which printed at Bangalore. They have identified 26 persons' involvement by inquiring their whereabouts at Visakhapantam, Guntur,Vijayawada and Hyderabad. "We suspect that about 200 students got the leaked question papers," say the officials.

The main suspect Jagadeswar Reddy had managed to procure the pen drive in which the question papers were carried to Bangalore and sold each copy for a massive rate of Rs 50 to 60 lakh, they say adding that cases have been registered under sections 120(b) and 420 on them and arrest warrants are issued on them. However, no arrests have been made so far," said a CID official.