MUMBAI: The committee appointed by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to examine the unusual cancellation of 18 admissions under the institutional and NRI quotas at NY Tasgaonkar Institute of Medical Science, Karjat, has given the college a clean chit. The findings close the state-level inquiry into a case that had raised questions about how all candidates admitted under these higher-fee quotas withdrew simultaneously.“The committee, in its report, stated that it had contacted all 18 candidates, who informed the panel that they had withdrawn their admissions voluntarily,” a source in the state government said. However, sources familiar with the inquiry process pointed out that the panel relied on phone numbers supplied by the college itself, which had assembled the list of candidates placed before the committee. Sources said some parents are preparing to approach Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with supporting documents, seeking a detailed probe into the entire admission process and the way inquiry was carried out in this matter.On Saturday, at around 3pm, the college published its vacancy position, declaring that 12 institutional quota seats, three NRI quota seats and one state merit seat were vacant. This disclosure came a day after the college had, on Friday evening, selected 12 candidates under the institutional quota from a special list prepared internally and submitted earlier to the Bombay High Court.Dr Pravin Shingare, former head of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, said that in his decade-long tenure as the competent authority for postgraduate admissions, he had never encountered a situation where admissions under the institutional and NRI quotas were cancelled en masse. “And even if such a situation had arisen,” he said, “what prevented the CET Cell from preparing a fresh list of meritorious candidates willing to take admission in this college under the institutional and NRI quotas?”When asked whether the panel sought details from the college on the penalties levied on students who cancelled their admissions after submitting the retention form, a source said there would be no penalty since the seats had not lapsed. However, the rules governing private medical colleges state that “any candidate resigning a seat from an unaided private or minority medical college after the prescribed date will have to pay three years’ fees as a penalty.” The senior official said he would look at the details mentioned in the report on Monday. The state CET Cell has posted an observer at the college campus, said a senior officer from the CET cell.
