In a significant development , it is learnt that the CID sleuths have zeroed in on 27 top rankers and are questioning them at various locations such as Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Hyderabad.
The case took a twist on Tuesday, after the Registrar of NTR University of Health Sciences Mr. S. Babulal, who was questioned by the CID team on Monday night, filed a complaint with the CID stating that he has nothing to do with the PG examination and asked the CID team to question the controller of examination of the university and the students from the top 100 rankers against whom doubts were being raised.
The alleged paper leak had come to light when many of the PG aspirants brought certain discrepancies in the ranks to the Registrar of the university and submitted a memorandum to the Governor a couple of days ago.
Their allegations are based on some simple analysis, which prompted the Governor and the Chancellor of university E.S.L. Narasimham ordering a CID probe.
The allegations are based on four cardinal points: This year’s paper was the toughest in the last 27 years; in general the score of the top ranker hovers around 150 but this year astonishingly many have crossed the 170 mark and the topper scored 180 out of 196; 52 of the rankers in the first 100 have very poor academic track record in other entrance examinations such as NIMS and JIPMER; and finally the presence of a scamster in the top 100 rank list.
According to the AP Junior Doctors Association president Kranti Kumar - the 12 ranker Jagdeep Nirdala was one among the accused in the PGI Chandigarh medical test scam. He also informed The Hindu that Jagdeep was a close friend of the mastermind Guravi Reddy.
APSCHE Chief L. Venugopal Reddy who headed the one-man committee appointed by the Governor to probe the case also expressed his surprise over the presence of about 15 non locals in the top 100 ranks. “The non-local figure is normally around 2 to 3,” said Dr. Rajesh a PG aspirant.
According to Dr. Kranti, the group behind this scam had been on the job since last six months. “They first sent SMSes propagating that they could help students in getting a PG seat and then zeroed down on those who evinced interest. They then did a background check and targeted those who have poor academic background but were financially strong and aspired to take up PG course,” he said.
The students in the campus say that the rate of the questions was set as per the group. “For 180 questions in radiology it is believed that the rate crossed Rs. 1 crore,” said Dr. Rajesh.
The deal was also struck professionally. “Pay Rs. 5 lakh upfront and deposit your original degree certificate and the balance after the PG rank, was the deal,” said Dr. Kranti.
Vice-Chancellor T. Ravi Raj, however, denied the allegations and said that they were based on speculations and will wait till the CID probe is over.
He said that the PG aspirants need not worry, as necessary action will be taken based on the investigation report to be filed by the CID. He was addressing a press conference here on Tuesday on the alleged leak of PGMET question paper.
