Lured by quick money, to-be-docs impersonated for MBBS aspirants

A probe initiated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for investigating the alleged irregularities during this year’s Pre-Medical Entrance Test conducted by the Baba Farid University...

A probe initiated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for investigating the alleged irregularities during this year’s Pre-Medical Entrance Test conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences has identified at least eight medical students who impersonated in the entrance examination after being paid hefty sums of money.

Two girl students of the Patna Medical College and another six male students of the King George’s Medical College in Lucknow have been identified by the investigating team in this regard.

IPS Officer, LK Yadav, who is heading the investigations, told The Indian Express that arrest warrants had been issued against the students of Patna Medical College while the warrants for the remaining six would be issued soon.

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Yadav said the two girls from Patna Medical College have been missing soon after the investigating team questioned them. “The two had received a sum of Rs 5 lakh from middlemen for impersonating as MBBS aspirants in the PMET Exam held on June 22, 2008 at Patiala and some other centres,” he said. The investigating team is currently in Lucknow for further investigations.

The matter had come to light soon after the 2008 PMET examination was conducted and the varsity came to know through videography conducted during the examination that some impostors had appeared on behalf of some MBBS aspirants.

This was followed by the University Registrar registering an FIR in Faridkot under Sections 419/420/120-B of the IPC against 20 candidates, for whom the fake examinees had written the exams. Those named in the FIR appealed in the High Court, which in turn ordered a thorough probe into the matter.

The investigating team then started examining the photographs affixed on the PMET exam forms and the videography carried out during the examination and has so far found 28 such impostors who sat for the PMET. They charged ‘fees’ ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The team is also visiting other cities like Lucknow, Kota, Patna, Aligarh and Delhi in pursuance of its investigation. It is believed that this may only be the tip of the iceberg and there is a strong possibility of this malaise afflicting other entrance exams also.