Andhra PG medical question paper leak traced to Manipal

The scamsters of Andhra Pradesh, the scam capital of the country, have this time come up with an idea that could only be seen in movies. While a bunch of consultants sold the PG Medical Entrance Test 2014 question paper and the key answers to the aspirants for a fortune, the plan had actually began a few years ago.

The idea was to plant someone in the Manipal Printing Technologies Ltd at Manipal in Karnataka, a high tech security press known for its specialty printing in the country, who in turn would help leak the question paper. The accused in this case were earlier involved in the 2012 Chandigarh hi tech PG medical entrance scam as well as the 2009 Eamcet entrance paper leakage scam.

Bhushan Reddy, who runs an educational consultancy in Hyderabad, conspired with V Suresh of Bangalore, Anuj Singh of Mumbai, Dhanunjaya Kumar Chouhan of Bihar, K Muneeswar Reddy of Kadapa and D Sainath, who were also involved in the same business, to leak the question paper. Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials who are probing the scam say that preliminary investigation indicated that the paper had been leaked at the Manipal printing press.

“Our preliminary probe points to the involvement of an employee of the press who could have been planted by the scamsters,” a senior police officer investigating the case pointed out.

The entire state police machinery is now working on this case. CID has picked up 20 suspects (Nine consultants and 11 candidates) in the scam and also the printing press managers from Manipal and is interrogating them. In addition to the existing five teams of CID, three top officials, including two inspector-generals of police, working in other wings have been roped in along with officials who had dealt with the SSC exam paper leak scam. Even the state intelligence department is trying to track the mobile phones of suspected students.

The PGMET was conducted on March 2 at 24 centres in nine towns of Andhra Pradesh. It was found that several of the aspirants who ranked below 2000 in the Karnataka PG medical entrance test this year, got ranks within 25 in the PGMET giving rise to suspicion that the paper might have leaked. The joint action committee members of the junior doctors association have met the state governor ESL Narasimham and demanded a probe.

During the investigation, it is established that a few consultancy service agencies and individuals indulged in sharing the PGMET-14 leaked question paper along with the key to willing candidates. Prior to actual leakage of PGMET-14 question paper, the consultants aggressively “marketed” with the students and collected their original SSC, Intermediate or MBBS certificates along with blank cheques, cash etc, with the promise of helping them secure high ranks.

Secretive act

In February, these consultants started calling the ‘contracted’ candidates to certain secret locations and shared the copies of the printed PGMET-14 question paper, along with the key, taking all precautions.

These candidates appeared for the PGMET-14 entrance examination and secured high ranks. Between February 25 and March 1, these consultants called the candidates to different locations, such as Soham Residency, Siddhartha Nagar, Goregaon in Mumbai, Imperial Heights in Goregaon in Mumbai, residence of one Sainath in Hyderabad etc.

In these secret places, the cell phones and other belongings of the candidates were taken away by the brokers, then the candidates were confined to different rooms and photostat copies of the PGMET-2014 question papers were given to them for three hours at a time, on three different occasions spread over two days.

So far investigation has established that  Komuri Munnishwar Reddy and D Sainath demanded different amounts from the students depending on their choice; like Rs 1.5 crore for radiology, Rs 70 lakh for pediatrics etc. CID arrested Muneeshwar Reddy and Sainath on  March 29 and seized incriminating material to prove the accused guilty.

Kommuri Muneeshwar Reddy, a native of Minimareddygaripalle of Kadapa and an MBA from Sapthagiri Engineering & Management College, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, individually started a consultancy centre “Vertex Consultancy Services” in Hyderabad in the year 2006 and later shifted to Shangri-La Plaza in posh Jubilee hills of Hyderabad. He started a branch at building No. 141, Balaji Arcade, 6th Main, 4th block, Jayanagar, Bangalore.

He used to contact Medical and Engineering students of different colleges and offer Management seats at UG and PG levels on commission basis. It is in this process that he came into contact with the others accused, who also worked in the same field.
Following the revelation by CID, the governor had ordered cancellation of the exam conducted and reexamination on  April 27.

However, a section of junior doctors threatened to go on strike unless the re-examination is held online and independently. The medicos said that institutes such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), JNTU, Osmania University or Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) should be roped in to conduct the re-examination.

Meanwhile, Justice P Naveen Rao of the AP high court admitted and ordered notices in a writ petition challenging the action of the state government in cancelling PGMET-2014 and ordering the entrance examination afresh. The writ petition filed by Dr Vikram Reddy and 90 other qualified candidates pleaded that only 29 students were suspected to have benefitted by the scam and their names could be deleted from rankers’ list. The case is now listed for April 17.