ED crackdown: Raids at medical colleges, pvt sites in.10 states over bribery charges

Officials accused of leaking inspection schedules, enabling ghost faculty and staged compliance

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NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out coordinated searches across ten states on Thursday in a money laundering probe tied to allegations of large-scale bribery, leaked regulatory data, and manipulation of medical college inspection procedures.

At least 15 premises were searched in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Seven of these locations belonged to medical institutions, while others were linked to private individuals named in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered on June 30. The ED is acting under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

According to investigators, the money laundering case follows a CBI First Information Report alleging that sensitive internal data, including future inspection schedules and identities of assessors from the National Medical Commission (NMC), was illicitly shared with representatives of private colleges. This is suspected to have enabled them to prepare fraudulent compliance conditions, arrange ghost faculty, and present fictitious patient numbers to obtain approval for new courses and renewal of recognition. Officials described the network as one involving public servants, intermediaries and college managements who allegedly worked in a coordinated manner to subvert the regulatory process.