Chandigarh, September 14
Submitting its final report on the Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) paper leak, the Vigilance Bureau has said that the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Dr J.S. Gujral, was not directly involved in the leak. It says it was a “supervisory failure” on the part of the VC as his personal staff was directly involved in the scam.

The bureau has recommended the imposition of a major penalty on the VC for administrative lapses and cases of financial mismanagement. These lapses like bungling in appointments, promotions and recruitment came to the notice of the bureau during its investigation into the paper leak case. Separate inquiries were then instituted.

In a communication to the Chief Secretary, Mr Jai Singh Gill, yesterday, the bureau made it clear that there was no direct involvement of the VC in leaking the PMT paper. The test was conducted by the university on June 5. Sources in the Punjab Government confirmed the development to The Tribune today.

Meanwhile, the sources said Dr Gujral had explained his position to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, during a personal meeting saying there was no proper office for the VC and the university was being run from dilapidated rented premises. It was not possible for him to maintain tight administrative control over the staff. In fact, there were no proper rooms, lockers or system to ensure the safety of the examination papers. The sources said the Chief Minister was by and large, convinced with his explanation.

The Tribune highlighted in its columns on June 5 how the examination paper was available at a price. The examination was cancelled. Subsequently, Guru Nanak Dev University conducted a fresh test on June 30. Later this test also came under a cloud. The matter went to the Supreme Court and a fresh merit list had to be drawn up.

The bureau in its report said that Dr Gujral had set the examination paper on his laptop computer and the binding was also done in the VC’s room. The bureau said the VC’s staff leaked the paper as Dr Gujral could not exercise supervisory control.

The report mentioned that there had been a trend of leaking question papers from the university ever since it started conducting the PMT in 2002.

During the investigations the bureau found that Rs 60 lakh for the construction of the building of the university had been forwarded to a Chandigarh-based architect while the university was yet to purchase the land.

The bureau also found that several purchases had been made without calling for tenders or quotations and bills were prepared for inflated amounts. In another case a central grant of Rs 1 crore for purchasing computers had been misused.

Already, in its interim report the bureau questioned the payment of three months’ salary to Dr Gujral in lieu of leave encashment at the time of his appointment. This was not permissible in the case of persons holding a post with a fixed tenure.