The UP government on Monday recommended the center conduct a CBI investigation into the AYUSH admission irregularities.
On Monday (November 7), the Uttar Pradesh government recommended the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launch an inquiry into the AYUSH admission scam, in which ineligible students got seats in Ayurveda, Unani, and homeopathic colleges in the year 2021 in the state.
Action Against AYUSH Scam by CM Yogi
The recommendation for the CBI came from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The state government has taken action against four senior officials, suspending two and recommending departmental action for two others.
Anomalies in AYUSH Scam
In the case of anomalies in AYUSH college admission, at least 12% of admissions in AYUSH colleges in the state for the academic session of 2021–22 could be fake, with a scam around the counseling process surfacing.
There are 7,338 seats in various governments and private AYUSH colleges in the state, of which 891 have come under the lens.
Inquiry on AYUSH Scam: two officers suspended
The discrepancies were flagged by the Union Ministry of AYUSH last week. After an internal inquiry, two senior officials have been suspended: Professor SN Singh, Director of Ayurveda, and Dr. Umakant Yadav, Nodal Officer for Counseling. An FIR was lodged against them on Saturday and departmental action is recommended for the other two: Dr. Mohd Wasim, in charge of the Unani directorate, and Dr. Vijay Pushkar, Joint Director of the Homeopathy directorate.
Article against AYUSH Scam
In the FIR, the department named UPTRON Limited, Gomti Nagar, the vendor company Soft Sole Private Limited, and the company’s representative Kuldeep Singh, who was booked for the anomalies. The charges were pressed on the three parties, charges of criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), dishonesty (Section 420), forgery for cheating (468), and fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document (Section 471) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Scam using NEET in AYUSH Scam
The complaint alleges that the designated organization or individual was asked to conduct online counseling based on the merits of the National Eligibility Cumulative Entrance Test for 2021 (NEET-2021), but the representatives allegedly fiddled with the data they received from the directorate, due to which an admission of eligible candidates happened, he alleged.
A departmental inquiry revealed that the natural order of merit was not followed in many cases. Furthermore, in some cases, selected students had not even appeared for the NEET exam. They believe that the company operates on a doctored merit list to accommodate their candidates.
Conclusion
Meanwhile, believing the counseling records provided by the designated agency, the Director General of Medical Education and Training proceeded with the admission of the candidates.
But eventually, when the discrepancies came to light, the DG’s office summoned the company to investigate the matter. He alleged that the company resorted to dillydallying to avoid trouble and corrupted the database.
