Top education regulator in India is arrested on bribery allegations

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Ketan Desai, the president of the Medical Council of India, on allegations of bribery in a fresh case that threatens to sully the image of the country’s top agency involved in regulating medical education. Dr Desai is also president elect of the World Medical Association.

Investigators said last week that Dr Desai had sought 20 million rupees (£296 000; €350 000; $450 000) as a bribe from a private medical college in the northern Indian town of Patiala for approving admissions of students in the college for the academic year 2010-11. The council has the responsibility of inspecting and approving colleges.

The arrest comes only months after the council led by Dr Desai released a code of conduct that prohibits doctors from accepting cash, gifts, or hospitality of any kind from the drug industry (BMJ 2010;340:c206, doi:10.1136/bmj.c206). Not all doctors are happy with the new …