Unauthorised foreign medical graduates' practice: CBI raids 9 cities

Patna: In an investigation against certain state medical councils and several foreign medical graduates who were allowed to practise in India without qualifying for a mandatory test, the CBI ran searches in nine cities in Bihar, PTI reported.

According to officials, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR on December 21 against 14 state medical councils and 73 foreign medical graduates who were allowed to practice medicine in India without qualifying for the mandatory Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

The central probe agency said, "Searches were conducted at several locations in nine cities in Bihar in connection with the case. These cities included Patna, Munger, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Hajipur, Vaishali, Nalanda and Champaran."

The existing norms in India mandate that a foreign medical graduate must qualify FMGE/Screening Test conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE) in order to get provisional or permanent registration with the National Medical Commission or a state medical council to practice medicine in India.

NBE sends its results to candidates as well as to councils. When fake eligibility certificates were produced by these candidates, medical councils could have verified it from the results directly sent to them by NBE, according to sources.

CBI said that the agency registered the case of alleged corruption, criminal conspiracy, forgery and cheating against unidentified officials of state medical councils, the erstwhile Medical Council of India, and 73 foreign medical graduates.