Exam papers of 41 TN medicos held invalid over mass copying
Two Colleges Barred From Holding Exam

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:19.101.2019

Tamil Nadu’s medical education sector, shaken by the NEET impersonation racket, suffered another jolt on Friday with the medical university barring two self-financing colleges from conducting MBBS examinations after CCTV camera footage showed mass copying by students with invigilators helping out in some cases.

While at least 41 students have been asked to repeat their exam in February 2020, Madha Medical College and Hospital on the outskirts of Chennai and Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Medical College have lost their exam-centre status for three and two years.

On Friday, MBBS examinations written in August by second, third and final year students of Madha Medical College were declared null and void by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University after it found extensive malpractices including exchange of notes, passing of answer scripts and dictation of answers in the examination hall. Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Medical College has been debarred as exam centre after the disciplinary committee found that invigilators were helping candidates in writing the exam.

Vice-chancellor Dr Sudha Seshayyan said disciplinary action was being taken based on the recommendation from the exam disciplinary committee and as per university statutes. “The results and academic decisions are made public on the university webpage,” she said. Exams for the three batches of students were conducted on different dates in August as per a schedule released by the university.

IN A SPOT: Adiparasakthi Medical College loses exam centre status for two years

Tape showed students wandering around exam hall exchanging books

At Madha Medical College, 25 second year students, one third year student and 15 final year students wrote the exam. A few weeks later, the university received an anonymous petition about malpractices and ordered an inquiry. As a first step, the exam disciplinary committee watched the three hour footage of the examination. It is mandatory for all colleges to videograph university examinations and there should be no cuts in the footage, said a senior university official.

The tape clearly showed students wandering around the examination hall exchanging books, bits of paper and answer sheets. Some of the students were seen exiting the hall soon after the answer sheet was given and returning after nearly half an hour. There was clear evidence of mass copying, the official said.

In the footage submitted by Adi Parasakthi College, invigilators could be walking very close to writing desks, peering into answer scripts and talking to students. “All of this is not allowed as per the examination rules,” the official said.

The disciplinary committee spoke to the Madha college management including the former dean Dr K Gajendran. The college management refused to speak to the TOI but a senior management official claimed that they were not aware of the malpractice. Our dean has been changed. If the college was a party to the malpractice why would we send the original video tape of the examination, he asked. Officials at the Adi Parasakthi Medical College were not available for comment.

Although results of the second, third and final year batches of MBBS students across all affiliated colleges were released between August 23 and August 26, results of students from Madha College were on hold.

Anonymous letter on impersonation

Chennai:

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University has received an anonymous letter alleging that a candidate who joined the Madras Medical Mission in 2018 may have resorted to impersonation in NEET. The letter says while the candidate scored around 900 in Class XII exam, he got more than 400 in NEET, which paved way for a seat in the premier Madras Medical College (MMC). Although the student was born and raised in Chennai, he wrote the exam from a centre in Delhi, the letter said. University officials have forwarded a copy of the letter to the MMC and the directorate of medical education. “We will be asking them for a verification report,” a senior official said. TNN

PG medical students may have to serve in district hospitals to be eligible to appear in final exam

Currently, students pursuing undergraduate medical courses are attached to primary health centres or urban health centres for three months as part of a compulsory rotating internship.

EDUCATION Updated: Oct 17, 2019 17:55 IST

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

All PG students shall undertake a rotation in designated district hospitals for a period of three months as a part of the course curriculum. (Representational image)(HT file)

All postgraduate medical students will have to serve in district hospitals for at least three months in order to be eligible to appear in the final exam, a Board of Governors (BoG), vested with the powers of the Medical Council of India (MCI), has proposed.

Currently, students pursuing undergraduate medical courses are attached to primary health centres or urban health centres for three months as part of a compulsory rotating internship.

The BoG has written to the Health Ministry to develop guidelines for implementation of the proposal for postgraduate students in partnership with it and the state governments. It has also sought that this provision comes into force from the next academic session.

“The move is aimed at providing practical experience to future specialists in real-life setting of the country’s public health system. Also, this will help address shortage of specialist doctors in district hospitals of rural and remote areas, and help strengthen services at such hospitals,” a senior government official said.

The note sent to the Union Health Ministry said all postgraduate students shall undertake a rotation in designated district hospitals/health system for a period of three months as a part of the course curriculum.

For postgraduate students of community medicine, the requirement can be posting at primary health centres and field experience in addition to activities at the district hospital.

“Satisfactory completion of this rotation shall be an essential condition before the candidate is allowed to appear in the final examination of the respective postgraduate course. The Ministry of Health is requested to develop guidelines for the scheme in partnership with the state government and BoG in three months,” it read.

A feud that spilled on to Alliance campus
18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,BENGALURU

he tussle for ownership of Alliance University between its co-founders — the brothers Madhukar and Sudhir Angur — goes back several years and spilled on to the campus, much to the dismay of students. In 2016, classes were postponed and the university was later temporary closed. At the time, students had approached the Governor of Karnataka and the Ministry of Human Resource Development, seeking their intervention.

The State government ordered an investigation and decided to place an administrator on the campus to ensure the smooth functioning of the university. However, the plan failed to take off. A one-man committee appointed by the government unearth an alleged scam to the tune of ₹96 crore. “As the two brothers fought for power, it had a deep impact of the university. Every time the head would change, our faculty members and our staff would be changed. The reputation of the university took a hit and reached a low point when the feud began affecting placements,” said a former student of the university.

Meanwhile, Madhusudhan Mishra, Registrar of Alliance University, said in a press release that the university and its members were “shocked and saddened” by the death of Ayyappa R. Dore, who was Vice-Chancellor of Alliance University between 2010 and 2013. “During his tenure, he served the university diligently and continued to be a well-wisher... The university will definitely extend support, if needed, in ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to light and firmly believes that investigations will be carried out diligently to identify both the cause and the persons behind the criminal act,” said the release.

Ola launches self-drive service

18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,BENGALURU

At the moment, Ola-Drive has a fleet of 500 cars.File Photo Bhagya Prakash K

The app-based cab aggregator Ola has launched a self-driving service that will allow customers to rent a car for anywhere between two hours and three months. The service, Ola-Drive, claims to offer people the chance to customise their package by choosing the number hours, kilometres and fuel.

At the moment, the service — with a fleet of 500 cars — is limited to Bengaluru, with plans for expansion to Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Ola aims to increase its fleet to 20,000 cards by 2020 and has plans to invest about $200 million into Ola-Drive.

At a press conference on Thursday, Arun Srinivas, chief sales and marketing officer of Ola, said, “In the first phase of its rollout, Ola-Drive will be offered as a short-term self-drive car-sharing service, as we look to introduce long-term subscription, corporate leasing and more options in the times to come.”

The standard distance option ranges from 8 km to 60 km, with a charge of ₹8 for every additional km. All cars will have an in-built navigation system. A 24x7 helpline will also be available for roadside assistance in the event of car breakdown. For customer safety, Ola has an in-app emergency button and live tracking option.

At present, there are five stations from where the cars can be picked up — at parking levels of Garuda Mall, Ashok Nagar; Forum Mall, Koramangala; Vega City Mall, Bannerghatta; Ola Drive Zone; and Golf View Campus (IBC), Murugeshpalya.

How it works

The user is given the option of choosing among four models of cars. He can also select the distance and time he wishes to use the car for. Any change in actual time or distance travelled will be adjusted at the time of bill calculation. The user can pick up and drop the car at any of the five designated stations.

Killers planned for months, but were nabbed in hours

Suraj Singh stalked the former V-C of Alliance University for weeks before murdering him; the game was given away by phone and CCTV records

18/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

Friends and relatives waiting for the body of Ayyappa R. Dore at his house in R.T. Nagar.V. Sreenivasa Murthy V Sreenivasa Murthy

Suraj Singh spent a month and a half stalking Ayyappa R. Dore, the former Vice-Chancellor of Alliance University, whom he allegedly murdered on Tuesday night. Madhukar Angur, co-founder of the university, was next on his list. Suraj had checked into a hotel early on Wednesday to plan the murder when he was arrested.

According to the police, the 27-year-old business management graduate, who was arrested in less than 24 hours after the deed came to light, confessed that he committed the crime at the behest of Sudhir Angur, Madhukar’s brother and co-founder of Alliance University. Sudhir had hired him as an officer in Alliance’s administrative section a few months ago. “Sudhir offered ₹1 crore to Suraj. He also offered ₹20 lakh to each of Suraj’s four associates who helped him murder Ayyappa,” said City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao at a press meet on Thursday.

The accused had stalked both Ayyappa and Madhukar for the past month and a half to monitor their movements. They zeroed in on Ayyappa after realising that he went for a walk almost every night after dinner. On Tuesday night, Suraj and his four associates waited in two bikes near Ayyappa’s house in R.T. Nagar till 10.30 p.m. When the former Vice-Chancellor failed to turn up, they almost called it a day and decided to return home. However, just as they were getting ready to leave, they saw Ayyappa coming out of his house. That day, he had gone to pick up his wife from a relative’s house and returned home only late in the evening.

The accused followed him for a few yards and confronted him near HMT Ground, which was isolated. They then allegedly attacked him with weapons and sped away.

After committing the murder, Suraj parted ways with his friends and rode to Sudhir’s house in BTM Layout. According to the police, the two men celebrated all night and Suraj left his employer’s house only by 4 a.m.

Sudhir allegedly gave him ₹25,000 and instructed him to execute his brother, Madhukar. Suraj left the house and checked into a hotel to plan the murder. “By then, the police tracked him to the hotel and arrested him,” said an inspector who was part of the team. Mobile phones and frequent calls were what had given the game away. The police, who suspected Sudhir, gathered clues from call record details and CCTV footage. “ Ayyappa’s wife told us about the recent fight between Sudhir and her husband over a ₹12-crore fund belonging to the college. We verified the details with the college staff,” said a senior police officer.

When they analysed Sudhir’s call record details, they found that he had received a call from R.T. Nagar around the time Ayyappa was murdered. After the police tracked Suraj down and got him to confess, they arrested Sudhir from his house. Suraj is said to have told the police that Sudhir had paid him ₹1.5 lakh over the past four months and had even promised to get him out of prison if he were to be arrested.

The city police have taken Sudhir and Suraj into custody for further investigation. The police are now on the hunt for the four associates of Suraj, who are on the run. The accused are all residents of Hebbal and J.C. Nagar and worked as mechanics and drivers, said the police.

Lauding the quick action of the police team, Mr. Rao announced a cash reward of ₹1 lakh for the team.

Alliance University co-founder arrested for murder of ex-VC
Sudhir Angur had also plotted to murder his brother: Police

18/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

Main accused Sudhir Angur and Suraj Singh being escorted by the police to the Commissioner’s office in Bengaluru on Thursday. V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Hours after Ayyappa R. Dore, former vice-chancellor of Alliance University, was found hacked to death near his house in R.T. Nagar, the police on Wednesday night arrested chancellor and co-founder of the university, Sudhir Angur, 57, and a university employee he had hired to carry out the murder.

Sudhir had allegedly also put out a contract on his younger brother, Madhukar Angur, whom he is at loggerheads with over the ownership of university.

Four months of planning

The former VC was murdered on Tuesday night while he was taking a walk at the HMT Ground in R.T. Nagar. The police believe that Sudhir set the ball rolling for the murder at least four months ago. “He turned to his employee Suraj Singh, 27, whom he had recently hired as an executive officer in the administration division of the university and offered him ₹1 crore to eliminate Ayyappa and Mr. Madhukar,” said Bhaskar Rao, Police Commissioner. Four other accused, who were with Suraj when he attacked Ayyappa, are on the run.

The siblings have allegedly been feuding for years over the ownership of the university, and have as many as 25 civil dispute cases pending before various courts. Ayyappa sided with Mr. Madhukar who had approached the Registrar of Companies (RoC) seeking ownership of the university. According to senior officials, Sudhir believed the RoC’s decision would favour his brother.

“Worried that he would not be able to claim ownership, Sudhir planned to eliminate both Ayyappa and Mr. Madhukar,” said a senior police official.

The official said that Ayyappa was close to Mr. Madhukar, and Sudhir was worried that he would use his local political connections to further his brother’s cause. Mr. Madhukar had also reportedly filed a complaint with the Higher Education Department seeking cancellation of the convocation ceremony of the Alliance University, which Sudhir had planned to hold on November 3. “This precipitated Sudhir’s plans to get rid of his brother,” said a senior police official.

The police have provided security to Mr. Madhukar. “I had a hunch that someone was following me. I discussed this with Ayyappa when I met him last Tuesday. His murder is unpardonable and Sudhir should be dealt with legally,” said Mr. Madhukar.

No OBC reservation for surrendered seats in MDS

Notification says 27% quota only in Central institutions

18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The notification issued last week for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) courses has once again triggered concerns among activists over the lack of reservation for Other Backward Classes in a section of seats available under the all-India quota.

Removing ambiguity over reservation for OBCs from last year’s notification, Section 12 of the notification issued now for MDS admissions for 2020 clearly states that the 27 % reservation for OBC as per Central government’s policy will be applicable only in Central government institutions and Central Universities for those from the non-creamy layer. This explicit mention, which was absent in last year’s notification, means that the reservation for OBCs will not be applicable to seats surrendered by State governments from institutions under its aegis for the all-India quota.

EWS quota

G.R. Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE), said what was more objectionable was that this year’s notification says that 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections will be provided in government dental colleges where the additionals seats have been sanctioned.

“For many years now, OBCs have been denied their share in the seats surrendered by State governments to all-India quota. While refusing to do that, the government is keen to implement reservation for EWS,” said Dr. Ravindranath, who filed a case earlier this year regarding regarding this issue in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Arguing that reservation for OBCs was won after intense political struggle, P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu, said not even a few generations benefited yet since its implementation. “There is no rationale behind denying reservation. If these seats were not surrendered to all-India pool, OBCs would have benefited from State government’s reservation policy,” Dr. Ravindranath said.