Lid off MBBS exam scam at Rohtak university

A scam involving MBBS exam papers has surfaced at the Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences in Rohtak. Employees of the university and students of three private medical colleges in the state have been implicated in it.

The scamsters reportedly charged between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per subject from MBBS students to ensure that they cleared the exams.

Students used erasable ink pens to write the exams following which the answer sheets used to be sneaked out of the university. The writing would then be removed using a hair dryer and the answer sheets submitted for evaluation after being rewritten, claimed a complaint lodged by an MBBS student with the university authorities.

According to the complaint, the scamsters were involved not only in MBBS exams but also in helping students pass other competitive exams such as the NEET-UG and the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination.

They were also involved in leaking MBBS semester exam papers to “impress and help students”. They would collect advance cash payments from MBBS students, according to the complaint.

Sources said the university authorities had received evidence about two separate online transactions made by students to its outsourced employees on instructions from the scamsters.

Acting on the complaint and the report of a preliminary investigation into the matter, Dr HK Aggarwal, who took over as Vice Chancellor of the university over a month ago, has suspended two employees and discontinued the services of three outsourced staff members with immediate effect pending inquiry.

He has also set up a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry. The panel has been asked to submit its report within a month. The sources said the VC issued orders to implement an on-the-spot evaluation system for exams across medical and paramedical courses.

Earlier, the system was to be executed after three months. These courses are, at present, being run by 145 government and private colleges in the state. “Keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter, we have placed Roshan Lal and Rohit under suspension while the services of outsourced employees — Deepak, Indu and Ritu — have been discontinued pending inquiry on the basis of a preliminary inquiry,” Dr Aggarwal told The Tribune.

The VC said all employees posted in the Secrecy and Examination branches of the university would be questioned. “Anyone found guilty during the inquiry will be dealt with strictly,” Dr Aggarwal said.