A seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Jaya Baloni, superintendent police (Rural), began investigating allegations of fraudulent MBBS admissions in Uttarakhand using fake freedom fighter-dependent and other certificates, following directions from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
“Currently, we are focusing on the fake freedom fighter certificates and have questioned several people in this regard. The probe follows two FIRs registered in Dehradun. Clement Town police booked candidate Tripti and her mother, Uma Devi, while Raipur police named candidates Khushi, Pari and Swati, placing five women under formal investigation.
We have also sought records from various departments related to the incident, which we expect to receive by Monday,” Baloni said.
Dr Ashutosh Sayana, director, medical education, formally sought an urgent magisterial inquiry on September 8 ahead of the counselling choice-filling deadline, citing dossiers that allegedly showed multiple beneficiaries from a single family.
Baloni said the SIT formally started an in-depth investigation into the alleged fake freedom fighter certificate racket that compromised seats during the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 centralised counselling. The investigation widened on September 18 when Bahuguna met Subodh Uniyal, minister for health and medical education, and submitted an expanded dossier containing a list of approximately 370 individuals alleged to have obtained government benefits and professional course admissions using forged documents. “During the investigation, it came to light that Dharamveer Verma, whose freedom fighter credentials were allegedly used fraudulently for admissions, was a freedom fighter who had died. If other instances involving fraudulent use of quota certificates came to light, the investigation could be expanded, she added.
His son and grandson had no knowledge of how the freedom fighter certificate was being used for admission”, she said. She said the SIT is examining all aspects of the matter but was currently focusing on cases involving fake freedom fighter certificates in which first information reports (FIRs) were registered.
