LUCKNOW: In a major development concerning state medical administration, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed the Directorate General of Medical Education and Training to initiate an internal departmental inquiry into the controversial 2023 nursing officer recruitment at King George’s Medical University. The fresh order comes even as a parallel criminal probe into the matter is already being conducted by the Special Task Force. Overruling previous procedural reservations, the administration has insisted that an administrative examination of departmental records and complaints must take place alongside the ongoing police inquiry, directing officials to begin proceedings without delay and furnish a formal report.
State Government Overrules Objections to Direct Dual Investigation
The dispute centers on the nursing officer recruitment examination held by KGMU in 2023, which quickly attracted severe scrutiny over multiple allegations of institutional favoritism and malpractice. Aggrieved candidates and whistleblowers had lodged complaints directly with the Chief Minister, pointing out that an unusually large proportion of selected candidates belonged to other states and that several successful applicants were reportedly enrolled at the exact same coaching institute. The state leadership subsequently handed the matter over to the STF to uncover any coordinated network behind the appointments.
Simultaneously, demands emerged for a departmental scrutiny of internal selection mechanisms. On instructions from the Principal Secretary of Medical Education, DGME Neha Sharma initially constituted a three-member probe panel on October 6 to look into the grievances. However, that inquiry ground to an immediate halt on October 14 when the DGME wrote back to the Principal Secretary, arguing that conducting a separate departmental exercise while the STF was actively investigating the entire matter appeared inappropriate. The government rejected this stance on October 29, issuing fresh directions clarifying that internal departmental inquiries are legally and administratively tenable alongside police investigations.
Complaints Target Non-Teaching Appointments and Registrar’s Warnings
The push for accountability has expanded beyond the nursing cadre following a formal submission made to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by former Milkipur legislator Gorakhnath Baba. Meeting the Chief Minister, the former lawmaker demanded that the ongoing STF action be supplemented by sweeping administrative reviews across multiple employment drives conducted at KGMU. He called for an immediate scrutiny of all non-teaching appointments carried out at the premier medical institution between 2023 and 2025.
To substantiate his demands, the former MLA cited official letters written by former KGMU Registrar Archana Gaharwar. During her tenure, the registrar had formally flagged grave irregularities in the 2023 nursing recruitment while also documenting severe discrepancies across other non-teaching recruitment exercises conducted during the same timeframe. The former legislator urged the state administration to incorporate these internal administrative warnings into the current investigations to establish the full extent of non-compliance with statutory selection norms.
Scrutiny Mounts Over Ad Hoc Regularisations and Official Promotions
The memorandum submitted by the former lawmaker also highlighted contentious personnel decisions involving senior university staff. Specifically, allegations were raised regarding Syed Akhtar Abbas, the Officer on Special Duty to the Vice-Chancellor, along with several other ad hoc employees. It was alleged that these individuals were granted permanent status, promotions, and related service benefits without undergoing the mandatory, legally prescribed regularisation processes.
The matter concerning these irregular service benefits had previously been referred to the STF for an investigation. Urging the government to expedite conclusive action on the basis of those findings, the former MLA stressed that structural personnel malpractices at the medical university required uncompromising corrective measures. With the government’s latest directive firmly clearing the path for the three-member departmental panel to resume its work, KGMU’s administrative decisions and appointment drives are now set to face exhaustive scrutiny from both state investigators and departmental auditors.
