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‘Ayush admission scam’: CBI to take over probe after direction from high court
The court ordered the CBI to investigate the role of former Ayush minister and the then additional chief secretary (ACS) of the Ayush department.
LUCKNOW The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to take over the investigation into the ‘Ayush admission scam’ soon. The development comes after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday directed the central agency to probe the matter. The court ordered the CBI to investigate the role of former Ayush minister and the then additional chief secretary (ACS) of the Ayush department.
A senior advocate, IB Singh, who was counsel for one of the 16 accused arrested in the case, said that the bench issued the aforementioned direction while considering the bail plea of his client Dr Ritu Garg, who was arrested by the STF on March 1, 2023. Singh also pointed out that Dr Garg is the owner of Santushti Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Mirzapur. Notably, Dr Garg was accused for facilitating admissions of at least 70 undeserving candidates to her institution in connivance with other officials of Ayurveda directorate.
Singh further said that the bench, while allowing bail of Dr Garg, directed for the CBI probe as the court felt that the investigation was going in the wrong direction. During the hearing, lawyer IB Singh argued that the college management had nothing to do with the admission process as the counselling was done by the agency hired by Ayurveda directorate for the purpose. Therefore, the court has ordered to investigate the role of former Ayush minister and the then ACS, he said.
Separately, a senior government official said that the state government had recommended a CBI probe into the matter twice after anomalies surfaced in the admission process in November 2022 but the agency did not take up the matter as the U.P. Special Task Force (STF) was already carrying out investigation into the admission scam.
The official further said that the STF is probing the scam since November 2022 and has arrested 16 people -- including Dr Garg, the former director, Ayurveda, SN Singh, counselling in-charge, Umakant Yadav, former senior assistant director, Ayurveda, Rajesh Singh, and former junior assistant in Ayurveda Directorate, Kailash Chandra Bhaskar, among others.
A senior police official privy to the investigation said that the CBI is likely to register FIR with its police station and take up the probe any time this week. The cop added that the state authorities and the STF are coordinating with the central agency and have already shared document related to the scam.
Earlier, the STF took up the probe when the then Ayurveda director SN Singh had lodged an FIR at Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station. The FIR alleged that some irregularities were found during the online counselling for admissions for NEET 2021-22. “During the counselling for NEET 2021-22, ineligible candidates were given admission to UG courses. The hired agency ‘Uptron Powertronics’ in Lucknow and the vendor company named by it (V3 Soft Solutions Private Limited) -- whose representative is Kuldeep Singh -- were mentioned in the FIR,” stated the complaint lodged by Singh.
The work for online counselling was given to Uptron Powertronics as the department of AYUSH doesn’t have an IT cell. The STF, however, arrested SN Singh and other officials and staff of Ayush Directorate.
The official said the counselling process, held in three rounds, took place between February 1 and May 19, 2022. He said that the firm, which was made the vendor company for the process, was also given the responsibility to complete the procedure and allot colleges to the students. Later, 891 first-year students, who took admission to Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy colleges in three under-graduate courses had come under the scanner, the official added.
