Jammu & Kashmir Police’s Crime Branch (CB) on Saturday arrested former Chairman of Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) for his involvement in multi-crore scam of selling medical entrance question papers.
Several students pursuing medical courses in Kashmir’s premier medical colleges have confessed that they purchased question papers in 2012 for hefty amounts through brokers that led to their selection to the elite professional course.
Former chairman Mushtaq Ahmad Peer had surrendered two days back but was formally arrested after investigations established his prima facie involvement in the fraud.
Peer’s network ensured that select students were taken to a private hotel where they filled up answer papers at their will and comfort. All the selected candidates were from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The investigators have found that some selected candidates’ parents had sold their land but they failed to justify how they utilised the money. In-charge Superintendent of Police Bashir Ahmed said that Peer was formally arrested under Section 420, 120B of Ranbir Panel Code and 52 Prevention of Corruption Act.
“We questioned him for past few days and there were ample grounds for his arrest. The CB formally arrested him and in coming days more arrests will be made in this regard,” Ahmad said.
He further said that so for CB has questioned a number of students, parents and few brokers allegedly part of this big scam. “After ascertaining all the facts and collecting data, we are going to act against the culprits,” he said.
Besides Peer, police have arrested two persons involved in the scam, of which one has turned approver. Peer had surrendered after police raided his residential houses in Professor Colony Hazratbal and Sidhra Jammu.
Peer, a former head of Computer Sciences department of Kashmir University was chosen to head the BOPEE in 2010 for his proximity to official circles. He was involved in a computer purchase scam in 2002 but the investigations were scuttled following intervention from political forces. Interestingly, after retiring from Government services in 2012, the Omar Abdullah Government appointed him as consultant to the State Government for fast-track recruitment in Government departments. However, after the scam surfaced, the Government terminated his post-retirement contractual services. He was also in the panel for selection of vice chancellor to a premier university.