The DMAT scam was a ₹10,000 crore dental and medical college admission scam, which was fully exposed in June 2015 in Madhya Pradesh when the Controller of Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) exam, Yogesh Uprit, was arrested. Indore based RTI activist and whistleblower Dr. Anand Rai was the first to complain against the mass irregularities in admissions into the private medical colleges. In 2015, he filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India demanding CBI investigation in the alleged scam. After hearing the plea, the Supreme Court of India said that the DMAT scam was worse than the Vyapam scam. After that, notices to Central and State governments were issued and asked why the CBI probe should not be ordered. On August 13, 2015, CBI told the Supreme Court that the DMAT scam is many times larger than the Vyapam scam. However, due to a shortage of manpower resources, it could not be investigated by the agency. On September 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government and sought a reply from the state.
Scam
The Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) is an examination held for admission into the private medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh, India. This exam is conducted by the Association for Private Medical and Dental Colleges (APDMC) and this scam had been running since its inception in 2006. An irregularity came to the forefront when the first complaint of fraud by Dr. Jai Chandra was made in 2013. Subsequently, on September 16, 2013, two people named Surendra Singh Chauhan and Ranveer Singh were arrested on the charges of duping around a dozen students from Andhra Pradesh for ₹ 1.35 crore. The duped students were promised admission to the private medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh.
An engineering student from Chhattisgarh, named Rocky was asked to interact with the aspirants and their kin, as the arrested duo were not good in spoken English. Later during the course of investigation, it was found that Rocky was not involved in the crime but was used only to interact with the victims.
Investigation
After the confession of DMAT officials of being involved in the scam, the police team seized the hard disk and electronic records from the DMAT’s office. The arrested duo used to work as admission agents for engineering colleges and also helped students to clear the semester exams. However, in order to earn more, they shifted the focus towards admission in medical colleges, which is comparatively more lucrative. In 2013, police said that it is difficult to assess the depth of the scam but the financial background of accused is a clear indication of huge amount of money involved in it. By the end of 2013, around dozen interstate gangs were arrested.
The police tried to extract some information from the DMAT controller A W Khan, but he died on October 5, 2013, during interrogation. His death made the investigation hit the roadblock. However, later the investigating team found some lead that suggested the involvement of private medical college authorities in the forgery, which led to the arrest of Controller of Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) exam, Yogesh Uprit.
In July 2015, the appellate authority of Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC), a statutory body for professional colleges, pointed to a massive scam involving private colleges. The candidates used to pay between ₹ 15 Lakh to ₹ 1 crore to get the admission in undergraduate or postgraduate courses.
Modus operandi
The gangs operated from internet cafes to the college premises. They used to introduce themselves as the personal assistants of college directors, doctors and claimed to yield considerable influence in the office of DMAT. The candidates who paid the amount were directed to leave the OMR sheet blank and were filled later. The state quota and NRI seats used to get filled up against the seats that were vacated on the last day of the admission process.
During the course of investigation, the police team found that the aspirants who paid to the gang used to get exact numbers in the examination as was needed to get the admission in the college of their choice.
Accused
| # | Name | Role | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anupam Chouksey | He was DMAT Secretary and Director of LN Medical College. After the arrest he confessed of accepting the admission forms of two candidates past due date | Out on bail | |
| 2 | Yogesh Urpit | Former Director of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB). He told the investigators that the modus operandi of Vyapam scam and DMAT scam was the same | Out on bail | |
| 3 | Surendra Singh Chauhan | A class X dropout, he confessed to have managed admissions of more than 50 students in past few years. On August 2, 2015, unidentified people tried to kill him but he escaped with minor bullet injuries. He said he wanted to file a PIL seeking a CBI inquiry into the death of ex-DMAT controller A W Khan, who died under mysterious circumstances during the investigation. Due to his sudden death the probe was derailed | Out on bail | |
| 4 | Ranveer Singh Anand | An engineer by profession | Arrested | |
| 5 | Sandeep | A native of Uttar Pradesh | Arrested | |
| 6 | Rajendra Singh | A resident of Rewa (M.P) and a member of BJP. He worked as a contractor for parking lots in Bhopal | Arrested | |
| 7 | Adarsh Kumar alias Aditya | A native of Bihar and a student of National Institute of Technology (Raipur). The team recovered ₹ 5 lakh from him | Arrested | |
| 8 | Jitu alias Dr. Raghuvanshi | He used to introduce himself as a doctor but never talked to the victims via his mobile phone. Instead, he asked them to drop him an SMS on the pretext of being in the operation theatre | On the run | |
| 9 | Abhijeet Gupta | - | On the run | |
| 10 | Sumit | - | On the run | |
| 11 | Akhilesh Singh | - | On the run |
Allegations against state government
The investigation team had come across specific inputs on the involvement of ministers, judicial members, police officers and others at high position in the Madhya Pradesh government. Indore based whistleblower Dr. Anand Rai alleged that huge amount of black money is involved in the scam and the business of illegal admissions was going on since 2006.
The Indian National Congress, an opposition party, has alleged that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's kin were the beneficiaries in the DMAT scam. The charge has been strongly denied by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Exam cancellation
Due to continuous revelations of collusion between Vyapam and DMAT authorities and threats from a whistleblower to name judges allegedly involved in the scam, the state examination body on July 10, 2015, cancelled the admission test to be held on July 12, 2015. However, the officials said that the examination was postponed due to some technical reasons.
References
- ^ Rs 10,000 cr scam: Thousands of admissions in medical colleges through DMAT under scanner in MP, June 10, 2015, Hindustan Times.
- ^ Madhya Pradesh DMAT exam cancelled, June 10, 2015, Tribune India.
- MP’s DMAT scam seems to be worse than Vyapam scam, Supreme Court says, Reported by Amit Anand Choudhary, July 17, 2015.
- MP DMAT scam bigger than Vyapam: CBI tells Supreme Court, Amit Anand Choudhary, August 13, 2015, The Times of India.
- Supreme Court notice to MP government over DMAT scam, September 5, 2015, Harish V Nair, India Today.
- Madhya Pradesh: DMAT scam could have been busted 2 years ago, June 13, 2015, Hindustan Times.
- ^ DMAT scam: Interpreter used to deal with clients, September 23, 2013, The Times of India.
- ^ Dental and Medical Admission Test: Scamsters operated in cyber cafes, colleges, October 10, 2013, The Times of India.
- ^ Almost all entrance tests in Madhya Pradesh since 2006 rigged, says accused, June 7, 2015, The Indian Express.
- DMAT SCAM: SECRETARY ARRESTED, SENT TO JUDICIAL CUSTODY TILL NOVEMBER 1, October 21, 2013, The Pioneer.
- DMAT scam accused alleges attack, seeks police protection, August 4, 2015, Hindustan Times.
- ^ Four Madhya Pradesh ministers under scanner in new Rs 4000 cr 'DMAT scam', June 6, 2015, The Times of India.
- Another Vyapam: Key accused in DMAT scam shot at, P Naveen, The Time of India, August 4, 2015.
- ^ DMAT scam: Six-member gang busted, two arrested, October 2, 2013, The Times of India.
- Chouhan kin among beneficiaries of DMAT scam, alleges Congress, June 14, 2015, The Hindu.