Srinagar, January 12
The Crime Branch of the J&K Police today presented a chargesheet to the special judge (anti-corruption), Kashmir, against 25 persons in a scam involving the sale of Common Entrance Test (CET)-2012 question papers for selection to medical colleges.

The accused include the former head of Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) Mushtaq Ahmad Peer and 12 students who got admission in the MBBS course by fraudulent means in 2012.

The court has accepted the chargesheet and scheduled a hearing on January 18.

The crime branch has also included the parents of these MBBS students as accused in the chargesheet that was presented to the judge at his residence as Sunday is an official holiday. The deadline for presenting the chargesheet in the case was to end on January 13.

They have been charged with corruption, fraud and criminal conspiracy and for other offences under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and Ranbir Penal Code.

“Today, we submitted the basic chargesheet against 25 accused persons in the CET scam, involving Mushtaq Peer and 12 MBBS students before special judge (anti-corruption) Mohan Lal Manhas,” a senior prosecution official of the crime branch told The Tribune.

“In the chargesheet, the accused have been charged under Section 5(1) (d) and 5 (2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 406, 420 (fraud/cheating), 468 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Ranbir Penal Code.”

Of the 25 persons chargesheeted in the case today, prime accused and BOPEE former head Mushtaq Peer, Sajjad Ahmad and Farooq Ahmad are already in judicial custody. The rest, including the 12 MBBS students, are expected to be taken into custody when the court formally begins proceedings on January 18.

In its status report to the J&K High Court on December 30, the crime branch had submitted, “The investigation thus far conducted has prima facie established the names of 12 selected candidates who have benefited as a result of the availability and purchase of question papers in advance after paying huge amounts of money in lieu thereof.”