Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament found guilty in MBBS seat allocation case

A Special CBI court here today held Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood guilty of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allotted to Tripura in medical colleges across the country in 1990-91 as minister of state for health.

Special CBI Judge JPS Malik held Masood guilty of nominating undeserving candidates for academic session 1990-91 to MBBS seats allocated to Tripura from the central pool. Masood was Minister of State (Independent Charge) in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare when the offence took place.

Besides him, two top bureaucrats and others have also been held guilty. The judgement has been delivered in 11 similar cases registered by CBI in 1996. Of the 11, Masood was named in three cases.

CBI had said in the charge sheet that Tripura does not have any medical college of its own. "Consequently some MBBS and BDS seats are allocated every year from central Pool by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India in various medical colleges across the country," CBI counsel VN Ojha had told the court.

These seats are made available to Tripura for allotment to eligible students from the state on the basis of merit, he had said. The Government of Tripura constituted the Tripura Board of Joint Entrance Examination (TBJEE) in 1988 for selection of candidates through joint entrance examination held every year. The candidates were nominated.

CBI had alleged that some candidates got their names nominated for MBBS seats for academic session 1990-91 from accused Gurdial Singh, then Resident Commissioner Tripura and an IPS officer of Gujarat cadre who was on deputation to government of Tripura.

As per CBI, Singh and Masood entered into criminal conspiracy among themselves and with candidates whose names were to be nominated as nominee of Tripura even when they were not qualified for the same.

With regard to one candidate (who was also an accused in the case and was a juvenile at the time of offence), CBI said, investigation revealed that the nominee's father was the editor of a daily in Uttar Pradesh and had met Masood to arrange a medical seat for his son. Masood had in turn allegedly contacted Singh for the same.

Of the 11 cases, Gurdial Singh is a common accused in six cases while retired IPS officer Amal Kumar Roy, Secretary to then Chief Minister of Tripura has been held guilty in five similar cases.

The then Chief Minister of Tripura Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar and then health minister of the state, Kashi Ram Reang were also accused in the case. They passed away pending trial.