CBI raid at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar over ‘recruitment scam’

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a high-profile raid at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday over alleged irregularities in their recruitment processes. Concerns have been raised over improper practices concerning the hiring of several posts within the institute.

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Allegedly, contractual employees are initially being engaged here and are subsequently being regularised by the AIIMS-Bhubaneswar authorities.

The investigation, driven by numerous corruption-related petitions, has revealed potential discrepancies in the appointment procedures, prompting this decisive action. A dedicated nine-member team from the local CBI unit in Bhubaneswar executed this operation. Their focus is on probing how five members of a family reportedly managed to secure permanent employment at AIIMS.

Know what led to the probe of the suspicious recruitment process

Inquiries have thus far involved interrogating 27 individuals related to the case. Allegations suggest that certain temporary employees based in Bhubaneswar obtained permanent roles by using fraudulent documents linked to Ghaziabad and Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The CBI sleuths ramped up their investigative efforts following the accusations that AIIMS-Bhubaneswar breached the established standard, ‘all-India recruitment norms’, by independently organising different tests and hiring activities.

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The trigger for this investigation appears to be a public notice issued on July 1, 2023, announcing 700 vacancies at the institution. Subsequent processes raised suspicion over the fairness and transparency of the recruitment.

The raid was carried out for nearly five hours at the Academic Block of AIIMS. Several important documents were seized by the CBI sleuths, informed sources.