Admission probe delay poser on justice

Ranchi/Jamshedpur, Oct. 14: Delay in beginning a vigilance probe into alleged fake admissions in medical colleges of the state might jeopardise chances of bringing the real culprits (both impersonators and original candidates) to book.

Health minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi ordered a vigilance inquiry into the entire episode on October 11 after authorities based at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB) stumbled upon at least seven cases of fake admission. But director-general (vigilance) Neyaz Ahmed said he was yet to get any written directive from the state government to start a probe.

Sahi and health secretary Pradeep Kumar could not be contacted, but a close associate of the health minister said Sahi had already written for a vigilance probe and it was now up to senior officials to act.

The dilly-dallying approach is bothering several doctors and medical students. They are apprehending that the delay might help the culprits get off the hook.

“If the vigilance probe is delayed, the students (both impersonators and original ones) associated with a big racket may get a chance to twist valuable records,” said a concerned doctor.

Meanwhile, both RIMS and JCECEB authorities have apparently stopped verifying the authenticity of the students of different batches after the vigilance probe began.

“Multiple agencies should not conduct inquiry when the state government has directed a vigilance probe,” said RIMS director Dr N.N. Aggrawal

JCECEB, meanwhile, has convened an urgent meeting tomorrow, said the member secretary of the panel, Arun Kumar, who also happens to be the director technical education of the state.

MGM inquiry

Authorities of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital in Jamshedpur have initiated steps to verify students’ admission to the current batch of MBBS course.

The scrutiny pertaining to the admission would be carried out on 37 students, the ones enrolled in the medical college after successfully competing Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination this year.

A.N. Mishra, the principal of the medical college, said that so far none of the students taking admission in the college this year had been detected to have resorted to unfair means. But still the probe has been initiated.
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