Two medical officers working with the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) were arrested by officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday for allegedly accepting money to certify an institute aspiring to launch a new course.
According to the ACB sources, they received a complaint from a man, who wanted to start a post-graduate diploma course in nursing in his institute.
The DMER issues a certificate to all institutes that want to start new courses, provided the institutes’ meet all the essential requirements.
The complainant alleged that superintendent (nursing services) Naina Desai and assistant superintendent Vidya Bansode, after inspecting his institute, demanded a sum of Rs 3 lakhs in order to issue the certificate.
The complainant, however, could only pay Rs 2 lakhs, after which his application was rejected.
He then filed an appeal, after which the accused allegedly demanded a sum of Rs 1.5 lakhs.
“Our officers laid a trap and arrested the accused in the process of accepting the money at around 5.30 pm on Tuesday. They will be produced in the court on Wednesday,” said Mr Niket Kaushik, additional commissioner of police, ACB.
The DMER is situated on the campus on the St. George Hospital in Mumbai and the nursing services department, which Desai was heading, takes care of all the state-run hospitals affiliated to it, including the St. George and JJ Hospitals.