Medical Seat Fraud Case: Main Accused Sent To Judicial Custody

Bhawanipatna: A Johnsel Raja, the man alleged to be behind the medical seat fraud case at Sardar Rajas Medical College and Hospital in Kalahandi, has been sent to judicial custody after he was brought to Odisha by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday.

Raja’s bail plea was rejected by the Junagarh Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court, which sent him to Dharamgarh Jail in Kalahandi where he will remain till August 13.

Raja served as the managing trustee of Selvam Educational and Charitable Trust, the trust responsible for running Sardar Rajas Medical College and Hospital. He has been accused of cheating students by taking money on the promise of giving them seats in the medical college. The EOW of Odisha Crime Branch caught Raja from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu on July 26.

The Odisha government through Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) had signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) in 2004 with the trust to establish a medical college in Kalahandi. The government had allotted 25 acres of land free of cost and Rs 20 crore for starting the college with a 300-bed hospital and all the facilities. However, the trust established the college only in 2013–2014 and admitted 100 students and then 24 students the next year.

Raja had been accused of obtaining necessary permission from the MCI for admissions to MBBS seats for 2013-14 academic session using forged and fabricated documents. The MCI withdrew its permission for admitting students for 2015-2016 citing inadequate facilities.

In September 2015, the Odisha government had lodged an FIR against Raja at Junagarh police station in Kalahandi district. The WODC lodged a complaint accusing him of violating the MOU, fraudulent documentation and playing with the future of hundreds of medical students. Earlier, the government had issued show-cause notices to it, but Raja allegedly did not reply.