The inclusion of Rawatpura Sarkar, also known as Ravishankar Maharaj, in the FIR has garnered attention due to his longstanding connections with prominent politicians. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has uncovered what it calls one of the largest medical college scams in India's history, involving multiple states and a network of senior officials, middlemen, top educators, and even a self-proclaimed godman.
This high-profile CBI investigation has revealed a nationwide bribery scheme that implicates notable figures such as DP Singh (former UGC Chairman and current Chancellor of TISS), Rawatpura Sarkar, Suresh Singh Bhadoria from Indore's Index Medical College, and a wide array of officials and intermediaries.
The CBI's FIR names 35 individuals, including retired IFS officer Sanjay Shukla, who previously chaired the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Shukla, a former head of the Chhattisgarh Forest Department, is linked to the Rawatpura group as a trustee. However, only one person—director Atul Tiwari—has been arrested so far.
The scam involved dummy faculty, fake inspections, and leaked documents, spanning from Rajasthan and Gurgaon to Indore, Warangal, and Visakhapatnam. Crores of rupees were exchanged through hawala and banking channels to secure illegal approvals for substandard medical colleges. The alleged racket also involves officials from the Ministry of Health.
The Investigation
The investigation began with a bribery case at the Sri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SRIMSR) in Raipur, where six individuals, including three doctors, were arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 55 lakh to provide a favorable inspection report. The CBI caught the doctors in the act, recovering Rs 38.38 lakh from an aide of the inspection team leader and Rs 16.62 lakh from another official's residence. The CBI claims the entire bribe was orchestrated, collected via hawala routes, and distributed among the team. What started in Raipur quickly escalated into a national scandal.
The Godman
Rawatpura Sarkar's inclusion in the FIR has attracted attention due to his extensive connections with influential politicians, ministers, and bureaucrats. Often referred to as the "Baba close to power," his photographs with IAS and IPS officers, as well as elected officials, have circulated widely on social media. Critics allege that his trust has received undue advantages in government schemes, road access projects, and electricity subsidies—claims that the trust has consistently denied.
This is not the first time Rawatpura Sarkar has faced controversy. His trust has been accused of land encroachments, operating unapproved colleges, coercing students into religious activities, and even subjecting female followers to mental harassment within ashrams. Human rights commissions have investigated these allegations, but few have led to formal prosecutions—until now.
Sources indicate that over 40 medical colleges across India may have gained recognition through bribery, falsified records, and manipulated inspections.
A Parallel Operation
As the investigation expanded, the CBI discovered a parallel operation at Index Medical College in Indore, where officials allegedly employed ghost faculty, forged biometric attendance, and issued fake experience certificates to mislead National Medical College (NMC) assessors. Investigators believe that Bhadoria and Rawatpura Sarkar—both originally from Lahar in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district—formed a powerful alliance, charging between Rs 3 to 5 crore from private institutions nationwide to guarantee NMC recognition, regardless of merit or infrastructure.
This was not an isolated fraud. The CBI uncovered a deeply entrenched network involving information leaks, dummy inspections, bribery, and criminal conspiracy that spanned multiple layers of the regulatory system. Officials in New Delhi were allegedly photographing internal documents and sending them via WhatsApp to agents, who then informed college managements in advance.
Among those receiving this confidential information were Virendra Kumar from Gurgaon, Manisha Joshi from Dwarka, and representatives from several private institutions, including Mayur Raval, the registrar of Geetanjali University in Udaipur.
At the center of this information racket was Jitu Lal Meena, a former full-time member of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), who, according to the FIR, acted as a key intermediary and leveraged his influence to extract bribes. In a shocking revelation, the CBI stated that a portion of these illicit funds was allegedly used by Meena to construct a Hanuman temple in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 75 lakh.
The Southern Angle
The CBI has also uncovered the involvement of B. Hari Prasad, an agent from Kadiri in Andhra Pradesh, along with partners Ankam Rambabu in Hyderabad and Krishna Kishore in Visakhapatnam, who arranged for dummy faculty and fake patients to be presented during NMC inspections. In one instance, Krishna Kishore reportedly collected Rs 50 lakh from the director of Gayatri Medical College, while institutions like Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences in Warangal paid over Rs 4 crore to secure clearances, with bribes funneled through official bank channels to appear legitimate.
