KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency on Thursday arrested two senior officials of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) in the MDCAT paper leak case over allegations of exploiting the examination process for substantial monetary gains and undermining fairness and credibility of the medical entry test.

A senior official, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that DUHS controller examination Fuad Sheikh and deputy controller examination Manthar Ali had been arrested by the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (CCRC).

They were booked in the case registered two days ago.

According to the contents of the FIR, the FIA’s CCRC, Karachi, has registered an FIR against the controller of examination of the DUHS and the deputy controller of DUHS and 13 other nominated suspects under relevant sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca) and the Pakistan Penal Code on Dec 10.

The FIA initiated an inquiry on Oct 18, 2024, over the complaint regarding leaking of MDCAT-2024 entrance examination paper conducted on Sept 22, that “damaged the career of meritorious students of Sindh”.

Held suspects exploited exam process for ‘monetary benefits’: FIA

Upon inquiries, it transpired that the said two DUHS officials and several others were involved in leaking of paper of MDCAT-2024.

These individuals were engaged in buying and selling of exam materials using social media as a tool, and were responsible for breaching confidentiality during the preparation phase of the exam, as per official papers.

This included unauthorized access to exam content, leaking of confidential data and key questions and answers through illicit distribution by means of social media platforms, and the failure to maintain the sanctity and integrity of the exam process.

During the course of the inquiry, the statements of the accused were recorded and their mobile phones were seized.

“Upon reviewing the forensic report and technical report pertaining to the accused individuals, it was revealed that the aforementioned persons were actively involved in the leakage of the MDCAT examination paper,” the official documents said.

The FIA said the leaked content was subsequently disseminated through various social media platforms, enabling widespread unauthorised access.

Furthermore, the investigation uncovered that the accused received “substantial financial gains” as a result of their actions, exploiting the examination process for monetary benefits.

“The malpractice not only undermined the fairness and credibility of the medical entry test but also caused significant damage to the trust in the examination system, affecting aspiring medical students and the reputation of the governing authorities responsible for conducting the test.”

The FIA concluded in its report that the said facts, circumstances and evidence collected so far showed that the accused persons having criminal intention, committed the crime by leaking the MDCAT entry test questions and breached the trust of students and government entity.

They were also accused of inducement, electronic forgery and fraud for using forged documents.

The FIA said the said two DUHS officials and 13 other accused persons — Mohammed Farooq Khan, Sajid Mehmood Alvi, Vinod Kumar, Ram Lal, Asadullah Samejo, Kiltar Menghwar, Anesh Harijan, Tariq Aziz Samo, Shariz Bilal, Shan Asfandyar, Rizwan, Shahzaib Hamdani, Khalilur Rehman and others had committed the offences punishable under relevant sections of Peca and the PPC.

Sources told Dawn that Fuad Sheikh, the controller examination of the DUHS, had remained a faculty member of the DMC (Dow Medical College).

After retirement several years ago, he went to Punjab where he served in medical education.

Later on, he was hired as “professor of pharmacology” by the DUHS on the contract basis.

Subsequently, he was given an ‘additional’ charge as controller of the examination.

The sources added that the controller examination was a ‘regular post’ and it was astonishing as to why this post remained “vacant for the last three years”.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024