Pre-med test racket kingpin held in MP
Police seize from Indore-based doctor's house papers,currency-counting machine,cartridges
A doctor allegedly helped more than 100 students get illegally into government medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh in the last three years,exposing a racket he ran in collusion with employees of the Professional Examination Board PEB,a government body that conducts pre-medical test PMT.
Indore-based Dr Jagdish Sagar was arrested from a hotel in Mumbai,where he was hiding ever since the police nabbed his accomplices who were impersonating for students in the PMT examination held recently. Two employees of the Professional Examination Board were also formally arrested on Wednesday by the Indore Crime branch.
The police searched his properties in Indore on Tuesday,the day he was flown back from Mumbai,and were stunned by the amount of wealth he had amassed. A six-bedroom secure bungalow,one among several real estate properties,in Indore had several biometric locks because hidden in almirahs and drawers were documents and details of the alleged racket he ran since late 1990s.
Besides a currency counting machine,the police seized about 125 cartridges,some of them used,guns and swords,foreign and Indian currency,liquor,jewellery and expensive electronic gadgets that reflected the luxurious life style his family of four had till they disappeared with the first arrest of the impersonators from Uttar Pradesh.
In his 40s,Sagar first checked into a plush Indore hotel before fleeing to Mumbai by road with his wife,holder of an MBBS degree,and two children,who study in a prestigious institution in Indore.
DIG Indore Rakesh Gupta told The Indian Express that Sagar owned up to between 100 and 150 bogus MBBS admissions in MP in the last two to three years. Gupta said Sagar operated on his own and was helped by a couple of employees of the PEB. The amount charged from each student ranged between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 25 lakh,depending on the circumstances.
Though Sagar opened a clinic he never practiced and was a subject of curiosity among his neighbours in Scheme No 94. Some of them reportedly told the police that he flaunted his weapons to visitors and even fired a few shots in the air.
The police say the kingpin appears to have a genuine degree but the one flaunted by his wife is dubious,a fact he himself revealed.
Dr Anand Rai,an Indore-based whistleblower who brought to light rampant illegal drug trials in the state,said Sagars was one of the three gangs active in the state for quite some time. He said he has already submitted a written complaint to the Economic Offences Bureau of the state police pointing to the role of top Professional Examination Board officials.
Sagar,a native of Bhind district,used to make brighter students from UP or MP,who had cleared the test or were studying medicine,impersonate for his clients. Another modus operandi was to ensure that brighter students got seats next to his clients,where collusion of PEB staff was must,and prompted answers in the examination hall.
The revelation has come as a major embarrassment for the board and the state government because it has coincided with the period that was supposed to be under watch,precisely because something similar had happened in 2009.
A probe by the medical education department had revealed that more than 125 students with suspicious credentials were studying in six government medical colleges because there were many discrepancies in the documents they submitted before the entrance examination,during counseling and at the time of admissions.
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