BENGALURU:A professor of Bangalore Medical College (BMC) who had allegedly helped his daughter get a medical seat under the quota for physically handicapped by providing her a fake certificate will be booked under criminal charges.The Department of Medical Education has directed the authorities of BMC to initiate criminal proceedings against the professor and his daughter for their fraudulent activities.
Confirming this to Express, a senior official of the medical education department said, “Following the inquiry report submitted by Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA), we have processed the file asking the director of BMC to initiate criminal proceedings against both father and daughter.”
The official added, “A departmental inquiry too will be conducted and criminal procedure will be initiated immediately.”
During the academic year 2012 (CET 2012), Dr Maheshbabu, a professor of ENT at BMC, helped his daughter get a government quota medical seat under physically challenged quota by providing her with a fake certificate saying the candidate is ‘deaf’, following which the candidate got a seat at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bengaluru.
Soon after the completion of admissions under CET 2012, KEA received a complaint against Dr Maheshbabu and his daughter about submission of fake certificates. It took KEA five years to verify the documents. In April 2017, KEA withdrew the undergraduate medical seat allotted to the candidate.
Express had reported about the cancellation of seat on April 12. The girl was in her final year when the seat was withdrawn.
What was the case?
Dr Maheshbabu had helped his daughter who was physically fit procure a fake certificate saying she was deaf. She managed to get a seat under the quota for physically handicapped students. What helped further was that her father was a professor of ENT at BMC and a panelist in the team of doctors appointed by the medical education department to verify documents under that quota. According to rules, doctors whose children are claiming seats under the quota should not be allowed on the panel
Fake certificate racket
S P Kulkarni who was the Administrative Officer during CET 2012 had faced allegations of helping candidates submit fake certificates. During CET 2013, a racket was busted wherein over 150 students were caught for submitting fake documents under rural, physically handicapped and SC/ST quotas. It was proved during an inquiry and Kulkarni was later suspended.