NRI quota medical admission scam: ED probes influential Bengal links

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have started probing the influential links of a racket involved in massive irregularities in admission to private medical colleges in West Bengal under the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota.

The probe was started after specific clues were sourced by the agency.

Sources said the new line of investigation on the influential links is based on two factors, the first being some communication between the kingpins of the racket with some local politically influential persons and the second being certain fictitious bank transactions in this connection, clues on which are already available with the investigating officials.

Apart from that, sources added, the investigating officials have also been able to trace politically influential family links of those candidates who allegedly secured admissions under this particular quota despite not being NRIs.

A total of eight private medical college & hospitals operating from the state are currently under the scanner of the ED officials. The investigation is being carried out based on specific information that such irregularities were done against hefty cash payments.

The investigation into the matter started in December last year on the basis of a specific complaint filed at a local police station in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

Since then there had been two rounds of marathon raid and search operations by the ED sleuths, the latest of which was Thursday. In December last year, ED officials conducted similar raid and search operations at multiple locations in the state, including the premises of two politically influential persons.

Then, at the industrial township of Haldia in East Midnapore district, the raid and search operations were conducted at the residence of the former CPI(M) Lok Sabha member from Tamluk Lakshman Seth, who runs an NGO that operates private medical and dental colleges at Haldia.

At Birbhum, the private medical college, where the ED raid and search operations are going on, is owned by businessman Malay Pith, whose name first surfaced in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling case in West Bengal.

The matter of irregularities in the medical admissions under the NRI quota was first highlighted by Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, in September last year.

He alleged that in many such admissions, there were severe irregularities against hefty cash transactions which even included admission through the production of fake certificates. Adhikari also accused some senior officials attached to the state health department of being involved in the case.

IANS