Rules for setting up dental colleges tightened

[drmithila]

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), continued its investigation into an alleged bribery case related to grant of approval to colleges for running various courses by members of Dental Council of India (DCI) and searched several places, including Bangalore and Mangalore.

CBI sources told Deccan Herald over phone that the agency expanded its probe searching premises of three members of the council’s executive committee and six private dental colleges, in different places of the country.

They revealed that premises of executive committee members, Dr S M Jayakar in Bangalore, Y Bharat Shetty in Mangalore and Sateesh Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad were searched.

Another source said both Jayakar and Bharath Shetty, were in Delhi for an executive committee meeting when the searches were carried out.

Insiders give clue

“The searches were carried out based on the information provided by some insiders,” a source said, without revealing the names of whistle-blowers.

Having received leads that some private colleges were given permissions to run courses despite several inadequacies in the infrastructure among other things, the agency also raided about six private dental colleges.

The searches happened in Bangalore, Mangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Namakkal and Jabalpur, sources said.

The CBI, on January 21, had arrested a Dental Council of India member (of a private dental college and hospital at Melmaruvathur, in Tamil Nadu) in an on-going
investigation of an alleged bribery case relating to grant of approval by Dental Council of India for starting.Post-Graduate Dental Course in 2012.

And earlier, (during second week of January, 2013) the agency had arrested a Member of Dental Council of India for accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh and three private persons/officials of a private dental college and hospital at Melmaruvathur for offering the bribe.

Trust involved

During initial investigation of this case, it was found that bribe amounts were allegedly accounted through a Trust in Chennai functioning at the dental clinic owned and run by the arrested Member of DCI. Both the arrested members were the Trustees of the said Trust.

Searches were conducted at the residential premises of accused at Chennai and the trust office at Chennai.

A sum of Rs 75 lakh was also recovered from a private person who was allegedly associated with the arrested Dental Council of India member in the matter of granting approval to various dental colleges