PMT scam: 1,045 unfair admissions cancelled in MP

With a Pre-Medical Test (PMT) scam coming to light in Madhya Pradesh and a subsequent probe into it, so far 1,045 admissions secured through alleged unfair practices have been cancelled in the state's various medical colleges.
The scam, which came to light in July last year, took place with alleged connivance of Madhya Pradesh Professional Board Examination (MPPBE) key officials directly associated with conducting the examination, few doctors and middlemen.
"So far we have cancelled admissions of 1,045 students who cleared PMT by allegedly adopting unfair means, including mass copying," sources associated with the probe told PTI.
The number of admissions cancelled so far include 439 of 2013, 333 of 2012, 98 of 2011, 90 in 2010 and 85 of 2009, sources said.

The main accused in the scam are MPPEB's former exam controller Pankaj Trivedi, MPPEB's system analysts Nitin Mahendra and Ajay Sen and state PMT's examination in-charge CK Mishra. Also allegedly involved in the scam are doctors Jagdish Singh Sagar, Vinod Bhandari and Sanjeev Shilpkar. All of them are in jail under judicial custody.
The scam came to light when last year, Indore-based health activist Dr Anand Rai had tipped off police about the presence of large number of scorers (impersonators) staying in different hotels of Indore city, following which the city crime branch conducted a raid and arrested four of them.

Later, when police questioned them, they revealed that they were working for Dr Sagar, considered as the kingpin of the racket being run by him for quite a long time.
Indore police arrested Sagar from a Mumbai hotel in July last year and recovered incriminating documents, including a seating plan which matched with the MPPEB's seating arrangement.
According to Rai, the racket was operational in the state since 1994.