The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday, September 13 conducted raids in 13 locations in Tamil Nadu that are linked to former AIADMK Minister and current Viralimalai MLA Dr C Vijayabaskar. The raids occurred over allegations that the former Minister abused his position to issue a falsified essentiality certificate to Vels Medical College and Hospital, a private medical college in Tiruvallur. Essentiality certificates are issued by the state government to certify that the establishment of a medical college with a specific number of seats is feasible. The DVAC has booked seven persons in connection with this, including Vijayabaskar, four members of the medical team who conducted the inspection at Vels, and the trustee and dean of Vels.
In November 2020, Vijayabaskar had certified that Vels in Tiruvallur’s Manjakaranai village is a full-fledged 250-bedded hospital. The establishment of medical colleges is regulated by the Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations 2020, as per which a hospital should have at least 300 beds and should be fully functioning for a minimum of two years before applying to be a medical college. Vijayabaskar, however, allegedly issued the essentiality certificate to a hospital that was under construction.
The DVAC has charged the seven people with offences under sections 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 7(a) (Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the DVAC, Vijayabaskar is said to have abused his official position as Minister for Health and Family Welfare to influence a medical team of four persons that inspected the Vels Medical College and Hospital. It further states that he “induced them to furnish a fraudulent report” favouring the college “as if a 300 bedded hospital was fully functional”. The FIR also states that the team “conspired” with Vijayabaskar and “gave a false report that all infrastructure facilities as per National Medical Commission norms were available and had recommended that the Vels Medical College and Hospital was eligible to offer MBBS course.”
The FIR states that the dean of the College Dr K Srinivasaraj had “intentionally created and furnished false documents/electronic records to the inspection team as if they were handling 600 outpatients and 205 inpatients,” thereby committing a crime. It further states that there are reasons to believe that Vijayabaskar received “pecuniary advantage” in this regard. The FIR alleged that along with the Director of Medical Services, the former Minister obtained money from the management of Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (Deemed University), Pallavaram, Chennai, to which the college in Tiruvallur is connected.
Based on the FIR, raids are being conducted at 13 places, including five in Chennai, three in Salem, and one each in Madurai, Theni, Pudukottai, Thiruvallur and Tambaram areas. Premises owned by Dr. Balaji Nathan, the dean of the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College in Salem, in Pudhur in Madurai are also being raided. Dr Balaji was one of the team members who inspected Vels.
The raids come at a time when opposition leaders are claiming that the ruling front is resorting to political vendetta. Another FIR was registered against former AIADMK Minister SP Velumani alleging that he swindled money in a scheme for replacing incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs in street lights during the previous government. While this FIR was filed around 2 pm on September 12, the FIR against Vijayabaskar was filed around 3 pm on the same day.
This is not the first instance of DVAC raids on properties and businesses linked with AIADMK leaders. In March this year, the properties of SP Velumani were searched, making it the second raid by the DVAC undergone by the former minister. The case was registered over allegations that he possessed disproportionate assets worth Rs 58.93 crore. DVAC sleuths had also found that 10 officials, including four IAS officers, were involved in illegally awarding contracts to firms linked with Velumani.
The DVAC had raided the properties of former AIADMK MLA (Namakkal) KPP Baskar last month and said that he had accumulated disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 4.72 crore, which is 315% more than the known sources of income. When the DMK government assumed office in 2021, the DVAC had conducted raids at the premises of former AIADMK ministers, including MR Vijayabhaskar, C Vijayabaskar, SP Velumani, KC Veeramani and Thangamani.