The CBI has booked an IAS officer and five other officials in Puducherry and top officials of seven medical colleges for cheating bonafide students of their post graduate medical seats.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has charged IAS officer Narendra Kumar, Chairman of the Central Admission Committee (CENTAC), K.V. Raman, Director of Health and Family Welfare, B.R. Babu, Health Secretary, V. Govindaraj, Convenor of CENTAC, K. Pajaniradja, Joint Convenor of CENTAC, and M. Jonathan Daniel, Co-ordinator, CENTAC, Puducherry.

According to the FIR lodged by the CBI, the medical colleges in Puducherry have 318 post graduation or diploma seats in medicine, of which 162 seats are earmarked as government quota seats and the rest are management seats.

A total of 267 candidates had applied against 162 government quota and 1,827 candidates against 156 management quota seats. The process of counselling for 2017-18 was conducted by the CENTAC under the guidance of state Health Ministry.

The case against the officials is that they conspired to deny admission to students who were issued provisional admission certification by the CENTAC but admitted those who had paid huge fees.

According to the CBI, the government officials did not make any efforts to verify the number of students who have not joined the medical colleges against the provisional admission certificate.

A total of 96 students were given provisional admission certification by the CENTAC but were refused admission by deemed universities and medical colleges.

Similarly, 93 students who were not selected or sponsored by CENTAC and had not been issued any admission certificate were admitted by deemed universities and self financing colleges collecting huge fees, the FIR said.

Thanking the CBI, Lt Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi tweeted: “Now FIR against 13 Officers and 7 Medical Colleges on Sept 18, 2017. Thanku CBI for rescuing Puducherry from d clutches of an Evil-NEXUS.”

She said the CBI had demolished “an historical complex of corruption in medical seats in Puducherry which people had reconciled to”.