A widening Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged corruption in the National Medical Commission (NMC) has uncovered a southern syndicate of intermediaries facilitating bribe-driven regulatory approvals for private medical colleges. Among the 36 named in the FIR are two individuals based in Telangana, one in Hyderabad and the other connected to a medical college in Warangal.
According to the FIR, the Hyderabad-based accused, Ankam Rambabu, and his associate, B. Hari Prasad from Andhra Pradesh, played a key role in manipulating medical inspections and arranging ‘ghost faculty’ to ensure favourable reports during NMC statutory inspections.
The duo, in cohort with Dr. Krishna Kishore of Visakhapatnam, allegedly collected large sums of money on behalf of medical institutions seeking regulatory favours. In one instance, ₹50 lakh was collected from the director of Gayatri Medical College, Visakhapatnam, and routed via hawala channels to senior officials in Delhi, including Dr. Virendra Kumar, another accused named in the FIR and suspected of acting as a central conduit for bribes.
The FIR reveals that Dr. Hari Prasad and Dr. Ankam Rambabu jointly handled regulatory affairs for Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences in Warangal. In return, the institute’s administrator, Fr. Joseph Kommareddy, allegedly made illegal payments of ₹66 lakh to the duo to secure smooth passage of inspections and approval processes. The FIR says that such consultants were actively coaching colleges to game the system, preparing dummy infrastructure, hiring proxy staff, and coordinating bribes to NMC assessors.
The FIR also highlights a pattern where inspection dates and names of assessors were leaked in advance to institutions, allowing them to stage-manage compliance. Several colleges allegedly deployed fabricated biometric records and fictitious patients to pass muster.
The CBI has registered the FIR under charges of criminal conspiracy, corruption, and abuse of official position. The Hyderabad-Warangal link is part of a larger pan-India network involving health ministry officials, NMC staffers, middlemen, and medical college administrators. The bribe money, as per the FIR, was often laundered through hawala networks, with some of it even diverted to fund personal projects like temple construction.
Published – July 04, 2025 07:42 pm IST