Nagpur varsity rocked by another marks scam

The increase in marks led to the student – Sheelu Ram Chirmurkar (Roll No. 35), passing the examination. Interestingly, she has secured admissions to MD (Pediatrics) course at GMC, based upon this allegedly doctored result.

Ordinance 159 of the Nagpur University (prescribing the rules of revaluation), stipulates a student cannot apply for revaluation of practical papers, and once declared fail, he or she has to reappear for the paper. The university rules also provide that any student failing in practical examination ofeven one subject is detained in the particular class, even the ATKT (allowed to keep term) rules being not applicable to such students.

Similarly any student desirous of going for revaluation has to apply in a form prescribed by the university. The application has to be addressed to assistant registrar (revaluation). Chirmurkar, however, applied for retotalling on a plain paper, addressing it to the then Vice-Chancellor Dr Bhalchandra Chopane. The copy of the letter was forwarded to the then Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr Yoganand Kale, controller of examination Dr Prakash Mistry and dean of medical faculty, Dr W B Tayade for `favour of information and doing the needful’.

While all these basic rules were thrown to winds, the university came out with the `corrected’ result within a week of the submission of the application. In normal cases, the university takes more than a month to announce revaluation/ retotalling results.

Chirmurkar, daughter of a project officer with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC),appeared for the MBBS final examination in summer 1998, the results of which was declared on June 4, 1998. A marksheet issued by the university on June 8, 1998, shows her to have flunked in practical paper of the subject Pediatrics. The student scored 35 marks out of 100, whereas minimum passing marks is kept at 50.

She applied for retotalling in the paper on June 10, 1998 and in the `corrected’ marksheet, issued by the university on June 17, 1998, her score in the above mentioned paper was shown as 55, an increase of 20 marks.

Most interestingly, both the marksheets carry the signatures of Yadav Kohchade, the main accused in the Nagpur University marks scam.

Chirmurkar has secured admission to MD (Pediatrics) course this year at GMC, on basis of the result. A fellow student, who, in July this year, wrote a letter to the dean of GMC sought details of Chirmurkar’s results to enable him to seek action in the matter, is yet to receive any communication.