CID arrests 17 in PGET exam malpractice case

BANGALORE: The CID sleuths have unearthed a serious fraud in the Post Graduate Entrance Test (PGET)- 2011, conducted by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) at Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), Bellary.They have arrested 17 persons, including nine students who had cornered top ranks in the test. However, the kingpin of the racket, Dr Vinayaka Prasanna, Assistant Professor of Forensic Medicine of VIMS, obtained an anticipatory bail from the HC, and the CID police have decided to move the SC for cancellation of the bail. As Prasanna has not appeared before the police, Director General of Police (CID) Shankar M Bidari has announced a cash prize of `1 lakh for those who provide information about him.Bidari said, Prasanna promised 11 candidates of PG seats in government colleges that they will get the seats by securing ranks in the PGET exam if they pay him 50 per cent of the amount charged by medical colleges under management quota. With the help of others, he got the 11 candidates in one exam hall and ensured that he was the invigilator there,” Bidari said.The police said Prasanna also ensured that the candidates were seated in such a way that they got the same version of the question paper. Taking the case in June on HC direction, the CID police found that Prasanna was involved in malpractice in the PGET held in 2009 and in 2010 as well.The police have arrested eight persons involved in the racket, and are on the look out for six others. Nine candidates who secured top ranks in the examination have also been arrested. The police are yet to arrest two more candidates.All the accused were produced before the JMFC court, Bellary, and remanded in judicial custody.The CID police would file their investigation report by November 1. When asked whether one of the rank-holders is the son of a judge, Bidari refused to divulge any details. At the same time, he did not deny that fact.Police said, “On the day of examination, question papers reached the VIMS Principal at 7.45 am. Prasanna opened the sealed packets and took photographs of the question papers with a digital camera. Then, he sent the camera to the house of a candidate. There, nine ‘experts’ took print-outs of the question papers and prepared key answers to the questions,” the police added.