Ahmedabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has uncovered an alleged conspiracy involving the leak of inspection schedules and internal file tracking within the Union ministry of health and family welfare ostensibly to benefit private medical colleges seeking regulatory approvals.According to CBI documents, individuals with official access allegedly tracked sensitive files within the ministry, clicked photos of internal notings and comments by senior officials, and shared them unauthorisedly with agents and college representatives. “These individuals allegedly facilitated unauthorised access to, and unlawful duplication and dissemination of, confidential files and sensitive information pertaining to the regulatory status and internal processing of medical colleges within the ministry,” the CBI document states. The agency’s investigation revealed that some colleges were informed beforehand about statutory inspections conducted by the National Medical Commission (NMC). The details leaked included inspection schedules and the names of assessors, enabling colleges to fabricate compliance.“Such prior disclosures enabled the medical colleges to orchestrate fraudulent arrangements, including the bribing of assessors to secure favourable inspection reports, deployment of non-existent or proxy faculty (ghost faculty), and admission of fictitious patients to artificially project compliance during inspections,” the CBI document said.The biometric attendance system was also allegedly manipulated to falsely record faculty presence during the inspections. The probe indicates that internal files were routinely located and tracked within the ministry, with images of sensitive notes captured and sent allegedly through personal mobile phones, violating official secrecy norms. “These images were then shared through personal mobile devices with private individuals and representatives of medical colleges, thereby violating official secrecy protocols and compromising the integrity of the regulatory process,” the CBI document reads.The central agency maintains that the actions were committed in exchange for bribes and other illegal gains, directly undermining the quality of medical education and posing risks to public health. On June 30, CBI registered an FIR against 35 people in connection with the nationwide National Medical Commission (NMC) scam for providing sanction of medical colleges in lieu of bribes.
