NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has unearthed a wide-ranging corruption racket involving irregularities in the inspection and regulatory processes of medical colleges across India, registering a First Information Report (FIR) that names 36 accused individuals, including former University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman D P Singh and several officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
D P Singh, who currently serves as the Chancellor of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), headed the UGC from 2018 to 2021. Other accused include senior officials from the National Medical Commission (NMC) and representatives of private medical colleges nationwide.
According to the FIR, a copy of which is with TNIE, the case centres around an extensive criminal conspiracy involving the unauthorised sharing of confidential regulatory information, manipulation of statutory inspections, and widespread bribery to grant favourable outcomes to private institutions.
CBI officials said the leaked data included inspection schedules, names of assessors, and internal assessments. This allowed medical colleges to stage fraudulent conditions for inspections including deploying ghost faculty members, admitting fake patients, tampering with biometric attendance systems, and bribing assessors for favourable reports.
The FIR alleges that health ministry officials photographed internal files including confidential remarks by senior officials and shared them via personal devices with intermediaries linked to private colleges.
Among those allegedly involved in receiving or distributing the leaked data are Virendra Kumar of Gurgaon, Manisha Joshi of Dwarka in New Delhi, and prominent medical education figures such as Suresh Singh Bhadoria, chairman of Index Medical College in Indore, and Mayur Raval, registrar of Geetanjali University in Udaipur.
Virendra Kumar is said to have had close ties with Jitu Lal Meena, then a whole-time member of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). Meena allegedly received bribes through hawala transactions facilitated by Kumar, who reportedly distributed funds to secure regulatory favours. Officials claim part of the illicit funds was used to finance the construction of a Hanuman temple in Rajasthan at an estimated cost of ₹75 lakh.
The FIR also outlines the southern network of the racket, reportedly run by B Hari Prasad from Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh. Working with his associates Ankam Rambabu in Hyderabad and Krishna Kishore in Visakhapatnam, Prasad was allegedly instrumental in arranging dummy faculty and facilitating backdoor regulatory approvals for bribes.