MBBS scam: Rohtak professor questioned, faculty on edge

Tension is rising at Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (UHSR), as a senior faculty member has come under the police scanner in connection with the MBBS examination scam that surfaced earlier this year. The professor, from a non-clinical department, has reportedly been summoned multiple times for questioning on the university campus.

Sources said the professor had served as Centre Superintendent at one of the examination centres flagged for serious misconduct. An ongoing inquiry led by a committee constituted by Vice-Chancellor Prof HK Aggarwal has revealed irregularities in answer sheets submitted over the past five years by students of a private medical college.

“The committee, constituted by UHSR Vice-Chancellor Prof HK Aggarwal, is examining answer sheets from past MBBS exams. During this review, evidence of malpractice emerged from a particular centre, prompting the university to involve the police. Consequently, the professor incharge was summoned for questioning,” sources said.

The development has sparked anxiety among faculty members, especially those who had earlier served as exam centre superintendents. Many are concerned that they too may be questioned as the investigation expands.

“Faculty members from various departments are routinely appointed as centre incharges or superintendents to ensure fair and orderly conduct of exams,” said a UHSR official on the condition of anonymity. “However, the police involvement and interrogation of a professor has understandably created anxiety among many others who have performed similar duties in the past.”

Confirming the developments, the professor in question said, “So far, I have been called for questioning on the university campus more than three times.”

It is for the first time when any faculty member of the UHSR has been questioned in connection with the scam.

The scam allegedly involved smuggling of answer sheets during annual and supplementary MBBS exams conducted by UHSR. Students reportedly rewrote their answers outside the campus, and the sheets were later swapped with originals to fraudulently obtain passing marks.

In February, the police registered an FIR against 41 individuals, including 17 university employees and 24 MBBS students from a private college. Of them, three employees have been arrested and are currently in jail; they have also been terminated from service.