A massive medical admission scam has surfaced in Karnataka after the income tax department raided three institutes and found evidence that indicated a cash-for-seat arrangement, with the amount reaching up to Rs 60 lakh per seat, sources said.
The officers of the income tax department on October 9 raided four colleges – Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research, and RL Jalappa Hospital and Research Centre.
The first two colleges are run by Sri Siddhartha Educational Trust, in which Congress leader and former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is the main trustee. The other two colleges are run by another Congress leader, Jalappa.
The income tax department after getting intelligence reports of irregularities in medical college admissions in Karnataka launched raids on 32 locations, including the four institutes, in the southern state and Rajasthan.
“During the course of the search, we found that the seats that were originally to be allotted by merit through MCC (medical counselling committee) were converted maliciously into institutional quota seats through the dropout system,” the income tax department said in a statement on October 10.
(Courtesy: NDTV)