The first part of the investigations by the city’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths into the seat-blocking scam in the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) undergraduate medical entrance exams has revealed that fake certificates were used.
As many as 30 of 65 candidates who appeared for the exam in 2012-13 from Bihar gained eligibility to write the exam by using certificates of meritorious students.
A team of officials, who went to Bihar to verify the credentials with the Examination Board, found that the photographs and names mentioned in the certificates of the candidates who attended the COMEDK examination were different. Based on this, they arrived at the conclusion that the candidates had either taken the certificates on “rental” basis or they were fabricated, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Abhishek Goel said.
However, the credentials of the remaining 35 students were found to be genuine, he said. The CCB has issued notices to the candidates and efforts are on to trace them with the help of the Bihar police.
According to Mr. Goel, there are around 230 candidates who appeared for the COMEDK examination from various States, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Kerala, and efforts are on to verify their credentials too. “We are also tracking down the candidates who shared their marks cards with the impersonators to ascertain whether they were part of the scam,” he said.
A team of officials has been deputed to verify the marks cards and photographs of each candidate to identify impersonators, said a senior officer, who is part of the investigations. He added that the role of the COMEDK management was also being verified as they failed to verify the background of the candidates before allowing them to write the examination.
Came to light in May The scam came to light in the second week of May this year when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at the Kempegowda International Airport detained 28 students when they were trying to return to their respective States after attending the COMEDK entrance exam.
The students, from Bihar and Jharkhand, studying medicine in colleges across the country, were arrested after CISF personnel questioned three of them waiting at the airport. When CISF personnel asked them to produce their identity cards, the details did not match their claims of age and name.
