A probe initiated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to investigate the alleged irregularities during this year’s Pre-Medical Entrance Test (PMET) conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences has identified at least eight medical students who impersonated in the examination in lieu of money.The eight include two girls from the Patna Medical College and six boys from the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University in Lucknow.L K Yadav, head of the investigating team, said arrest warrants had been issued against the girls while that for the remaining six would be issued soon. Yadav said the two girls had been missing soon after the investigating team questioned them. “The two had received Rs 5 lakh from middlemen for impersonating as MBBS aspirants in the PMET held on June 22, 2008, at Patiala and other centres,” he said. The team is currently in Lucknow for further investigations. The matter came to light soon after the PMET-2008 was conducted. As the entire examination had been videographed, the university saw the tapes and unearthed the impersonation cases.The university registrar then registered an FIR in Faridkot under Sections 419/420/120-B of the IPC against 20 candidates, for whom the fake examinees had written the papers. Those named in the FIR appealed in the High Court, which in turn ordered a thorough probe into the matter. The investigating team examined the photographs affixed on the PMET forms and the video films and has so far identified the imposters who charged amounts ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The team is also scheduled to visit Kota, Patna, Aligarh and Delhi as part of its investigation. Officers believe this may only be the tip of the iceberg and that there is a strong possibility of this racket’s involvement in other entrance exams.
