E-Paper
D-Pharmacy certificates scam: Accused issued 700 certificates
Ravinder Pal Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP, vigilance bureau) said the bureau will trace all the 700 people who acquired D-Pharmacy certificates. A total of 17 accused have been arrested so far in the scam
Investigating the matter of admitting ineligible candidates and issuing D-Pharmacy certificates in a fraudulent manner, the vigilance bureau has found that at least 700 such certificates were issued by the accused.
Ravinder Pal Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP, vigilance bureau) said the bureau will trace all the 700 people who acquired D-Pharmacy certificates. A total of 17 accused have been arrested so far in the scam.
The bureau has also traced more than 65 such ‘beneficiaries’ and recorded their statements, while 9 of them have been were arrested.
The beneficiaries stated that they had not opted for Science stream in Class 12 and had arranged Class 12 certificates from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh by paying extra money. They said that they had never visited these states. In the investigation, the Class 12 certificates were also found fake.
According to vigilance officers, maximum certificates were issued before 2016. The accused were part of the nexus with the officials of private colleges, who used to bring the candidate interested in acquiring a diploma in Pharmacy. The accused used to charge fees of D-Pharmacy and ‘extra fee’ for arranging Class 12 certificates with Science stream.
Dr Gurpreet Singh Gill, medical superintendent of Adesh University, Bathinda was arrested by vigilance bureau along with Sarabjit Singh Brar, principal; RS Ramakodi, former principal of Lala Lajpat Rai College, Sehna, Barnala district; and Baljinder Singh Bajwa, former principal of the same college on January 15. Gill had suffered some complications following which he was admitted to PGIMER.
Ravinder Pal Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP, Vigilance Bureau) said that Dr Gill had undergone a brain surgery in the past following which he was sent to PGIMER Chandigarh for medical examination. He attended the court hearing on a video call.
Earlier, the bureau had arrested Parveen Kumar Bharadwaj and Dr Tejvir Singh, both former registrars of PSPC along with superintendent Ashok Kumar. Nine pharmacists were also nominated and arrested in this case.
On December 8, 2023, the Ludhiana vigilance bureau had lodged an FIR under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 465, 466, 468, (all related to forgery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) against the accused for issuing licences of D-Pharmacy to ineligible students studying in private colleges.
Later, they had added IPC sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), and 467 ( also forgery) along with sections 7, 7-A, 8, 13(1) read with 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act in the FIR, said the bureau spokesperson.
