The Enforcement Directorate carried out widespread searches on Thursday at more than 15 locations across 10 states as part of its investigation into a large medical college bribery and accreditation scam. The searches follow a Central Bureau of Investigation case that first exposed how private medical colleges allegedly manipulated inspections to secure approvals and increase seats.
Teams were deployed across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Among the main institutions under scrutiny are Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Medical College in Raipur and Index Medical College in Indore.
Officials searched the home of Atul Kumar Tiwari, director of the Raipur college, early in the day. Tiwari had previously been arrested by the CBI and later released on bail. In Indore, investigators sealed parts of Index Medical College and seized financial and digital records linked to its promoter, Suresh Bhadoria.
According to the CBI’s earlier findings, the alleged corruption began with a bribe of 55 lakh rupees routed through hawala channels. Investigators had recovered 38.38 lakh rupees from an aide of the inspection head and 16.62 lakh rupees from a government official’s residence.
As the probe expanded, investigators realised the scheme was not limited to a single incident. Confidential National Medical Commission inspection documents were reportedly photographed and circulated over WhatsApp. This allowed college agents and officials to stage inspections by bringing in fake faculty members, falsifying attendance and even presenting dummy patients to create the illusion of compliance.
Several individuals surfaced during the investigation, including self styled spiritual figure Ravishankar Maharaj, whose trust is linked to the Rawatpura group of institutions. Others named include Gurgaon based Virendra Kumar, Dwarka resident Manisha Joshi and Geetanjali University registrar Mayur Raval.
Investigators believe that more than 40 private medical colleges may have benefited from manipulated inspections or forged documentation.
Five months earlier, the CBI had raided 40 locations across the country, gathering documents that pointed to a wider network. At the time, the case appeared to involve only isolated instances of bribery. Subsequent evidence, however, suggested a systematic attempt to influence approvals and seat allocations across states.
The ED is now examining banking trails, cash movements, digital records and communications between promoters, agents and officials.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)