Mr Gadkari, read this before attending CPS convocation today

Main accused in CPS fake certificates scam says institute’s head is at the centre of the scandal

Maharashtra Medical Council has uncovered 46 fake certificates so far. Officials call it institutional failure.

The primary accused in the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) fake certificate scam on Monday alleged that he has been made a scapegoat to protect the college’s top officials, including its president Dr Girish Maindarkar.

Snehal Nyati, 42, whose registration to practice medicine was cancelled in March this year when students named him as the person who helped them procure fake certificates, told this newspaper that he informed the police about Dr Maindarkar being at the center of the scam, and that an inquiry should be conducted to expose his involvement alongside that of other senior CPS officials.

Nyati’s registration was cancelled after he did not appear for inquiry hearings called by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) on three occasions regarding his alleged involvement in fake certificates case.

The fresh charges against the institute’s head has brought under a cloud Tuesday’s convocation at CPS to be attended by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra’s Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan, and State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has already taken action against 46 students for procuring passing certificates after having failed to clear various CPS courses and fellowships. MMC officials have told Mumbai Mirror that what they have uncovered is just the tip of a massive scandal.

“As we go into records of previous years, we are sure hundreds more fake certificates will be uncovered. This is clearly an institutional failure and not the handiwork of one or two persons,” a top MMC official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

Two CPS students have already filed separate cases against the institution, alleging bribery and forgery in declaration of results.

Talking exclusively to Mumbai Mirror, Nyati, against whom the Bhoiwada police filed a case in 2016 when first fake certificates were uncovered, said the bogus documents were generated by CPS clerks at the behest of Dr Maindarkar.

Nyati, who claimed he never met Dr Maindarkar, said without the CPS head’s involvement it would not be possible to produce the institute’s certificate with all the security features.

Nyati told this newspaper that his job was to get students to register into CPS’ management quota from affiliated institutions such as KEM, Nair, and Sion hospitals. “There were no entrance tests then. The institutes admitting the students used to pay me between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 per seat,” he said.

He, however, denied he ever got a failed student a certificate declaring he or she had cleared a CPS course. “But I knew of a few clerks in CPS who used to do this for the college’s head. If students who had failed called me I used to direct them to these clerks,” said Nyati.

He alleged that Dr Maindarkar held complete sway over the students and CPS faculty and staff. “He is a powerful man. Everybody is scared of him,” he said.

In an email response to a series of questions sent to Dr Maindarkar on the basis of allegations made by Nyati, he said: “Snehal Nyati is an accused in a criminal case and he is on bail. The matter is about fake certificates. The issue is sub-judice and therefore I am unable to offer any comments on the typical facts and circumstances of the case.”