CBI busts major medical college scam; Health Ministry, NMC officials in dock

The CBI has uncovered a major criminal conspiracy involving officials from the Union Health Ministry, the National Medical Commission (NMC) and representatives of medical colleges. The accused allegedly exchanged classified information and manipulated the NMC’s inspection process to favour private colleges.

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An FIR has been filed against 34 individuals, including DP Singh, chairman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Mayur Raval, registrar, Gitanjali University; Ravi Shankar Maharaj, chairman, Rawatpura Institute of Medical Sciences and Research; and Suresh Singh Bhadoria, chairman, Index Medical College. Several Health Ministry officials and five doctors from the NMC’s inspection team have also been named.

The accused Health Ministry officials include Poonam Meena, Dharamvir, Piyush Malyan, Anup Jaiswal, Rahul Srivastava, Deepak, Manisha and Chandan Kumar. The FIR includes charges under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to the FIR, confidential inspection schedules and assessor details were allegedly leaked to certain private colleges before official communication, enabling them to manipulate inspections. The accused reportedly facilitated unauthorised access and illegal dissemination of internal files, regulatory data and notings made by senior officers.

The FIR states that such disclosures allowed colleges to arrange ghost faculty, admit fake patients, bribe assessors and tamper with biometric attendance systems to falsely show compliance.

The CBI has also alleged that Dr Jitu Lal Meena, Joint Director of the National Health Authority, used bribe money to fund the construction of a Hanuman temple in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The project, costing around Rs 75 lakh, was allegedly financed through hawala channels.

Preliminary findings reveal that dummy faculty were arranged during inspections and bribes running into lakhs of rupees were exchanged via hawala networks. These bribes reportedly helped secure renewals and regulatory approvals from authorities, including the NMC.

In the same case, the CBI arrested three doctors and three office-bearers of Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on July 1 for allegedly facilitating favourable inspection reports in exchange for bribes. CBI officials stated that the investigation was ongoing and more arrests were likely in the near future.

Temple built using bribe money

• Officials leaked confidential inspection schedules to help colleges prepare fake setups in advance
• Colleges arranged ghost faculty during inspections to show fake compliance with NMC norms
• Admitted dummy patients to falsely portray proper hospital functionality
• Used hawala channels to route bribes for securing approvals and renewals
• One of the officials allegedly funded construction of a temple in Rajasthan using corruption money