By TIOL News Service  

NEW DELHI, FEB 19, 2021: THE Income Tax (I-T) Department conducted raids on nine major trusts running medical colleges across Bengaluru and Mangalore, unveiling the cash-for-seat malpractice for admissions, said the Finance Ministry on Thursday.

Search and seizure operations were carried out on February 17 at 56 different locations across Karnataka and Kerala, where the I-T sleuths swooped down on institutions, offices and residences of the colleges' senior management.

So far, the evidence indicates that Rs. 402.78 crore has been accepted as illegal capitation fees by manipulating the online admission process and the same has not been disclosed to the Income Tax Department. Cash amounting to Rs. 15.09 crore, 81 kg of gold valued at Rs. 30 crore, 50 carat diamonds and 40 kg of silver articles were also seized from the residences of trustees. There is evidence of undisclosed foreign assets of Rs. 2.39 crore in Ghana along with huge investments in 35 luxury cars.

"The search operation has resulted in detecting incriminating evidence regarding cash-for-seat malpractices for admission to MBBS, BDS and Post Graduate seats in the form of notebooks, handwritten diaries, excel sheets containing the details of cash received from students and brokers for admission in these colleges for various years," said the ministry.

The management, faculty, staff, meritorious students and brokers were found to be working in "close nexus to manipulate the online admission process," it added. One of the medical colleges was also found to have a "package arrangement" for passing management quota students in written examination and viva voce for fixed sums ranging from Rs. 1-2 lakh.

During the course of the search and seizure operation it was found that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) had been subverted by the trustees and key persons running these medical colleges in collusion with agents and brokers and some high-ranking students, who were unlawfully selling the MBBS seats.

Highlighting the stages of malpractice, the ministry found that some high-ranking students in NEET examination take admission to MBBS courses through state counselling and block the seat even though they have no intention to join the college as they are likely to be admitted into another institution.

Agents and middlemen then convert the regular seat into management quota and are then put up for "sale" by the college in the stray vacancies round for huge sums of capitation fee and donations.

Apart from this, evidence was also found regarding large number of investments made in immovable properties with huge cash component. One of the colleges was also found to have diversified into the timber and plywood business and were found to be under-invoicing.