13,000 pharmacists having qualification outside Maharashtra under scrutiny
Laxmi Yadav, Mumbai
Thursday, January 31, 2019, 08:00 Hrs [IST]
Pharmabiz
Close on the heels of the arrest of four pharmacists and the chairman of a pharmacy college in connection with a fake certificate scam, around 13,000 candidates who have registered with the Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) over last eight years after obtaining pharmacy qualification from other states as well as transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra are under scrutiny.
Thane crime branch which has recently arrested four pharmacists-- Raju Yadav, Arvindkumar Bhat, Budharam Ajneya and Balwant Singh Chauhan-- running drug stores in and around Thane with the help of the fake D.Pharm certificate provided by a pharmacy college, Deep Paramedical Organisation, has sought details of pharmacists who got registered with the MSPC from 2011 to December 18, 2018 on completion of diploma and degree in pharmacy out of Maharashtra or the pharmacists who transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra. The crime branch has written to the MSPC in this regard.
It is learnt that around 1.25 lakh pharmacists have registered with the MSPC from 2011 to 2018. Of them, around 13,000 pharmacists are those who either pursued pharmacy courses from other states or transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra. Of 13,000 pharmacists, most of the candidates are diploma holders.
As a precautionary step to prevent registration of candidates with fake pharmacy qualification, the Council has stopped registration of pharmacy students belonging to SunRise University and OPJS University in Rajasthan from January 21, 2019 after the arrest of four pharmacists with bogus qualification bearing the name of these Universities.
Confirming this, Vijay Patil, president of MSPC told Pharmabiz that during police investigation, it was found that the four pharmacists who were recently arrested had bogus D.Pharm certificates bearing the name of SunRise University and OPJS University in Rajasthan. Hence we have decided to stop registration of candidates from these universities till the probe is going on, he added.
He said as per Section 32(2) of Pharmacy Act, the MSPC conducts document verification of pharmacists before their registration. Once a pharmacy college confirms that the students aged 18 years or above have passed out from their institutes and they reside or do business in Maharashtra, we have no option but to allow their registration.
It is learnt that there are several pharmacy colleges in Karnataka and Rajasthan offering working candidates opportunity to study from home in violation of attendance norms of Pharmacy Council of India. They help candidates clear the examinations and get the pharmacy qualifications—D.Pharm, B.Pharm. Such candidates often lack requisite professional skills thus posing risk to public health.
In a bid to prevent such candidates from registering with the MSPC, we had started skill test of candidates having pharmacy qualification from other states or transferring their registration to Maharashtra from other states. The test was later stopped following a directive from PCI, said Patil.
Laxmi Yadav, Mumbai
Thursday, January 31, 2019, 08:00 Hrs [IST]
Pharmabiz
Close on the heels of the arrest of four pharmacists and the chairman of a pharmacy college in connection with a fake certificate scam, around 13,000 candidates who have registered with the Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) over last eight years after obtaining pharmacy qualification from other states as well as transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra are under scrutiny.
Thane crime branch which has recently arrested four pharmacists-- Raju Yadav, Arvindkumar Bhat, Budharam Ajneya and Balwant Singh Chauhan-- running drug stores in and around Thane with the help of the fake D.Pharm certificate provided by a pharmacy college, Deep Paramedical Organisation, has sought details of pharmacists who got registered with the MSPC from 2011 to December 18, 2018 on completion of diploma and degree in pharmacy out of Maharashtra or the pharmacists who transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra. The crime branch has written to the MSPC in this regard.
It is learnt that around 1.25 lakh pharmacists have registered with the MSPC from 2011 to 2018. Of them, around 13,000 pharmacists are those who either pursued pharmacy courses from other states or transferred their registration from other states to Maharashtra. Of 13,000 pharmacists, most of the candidates are diploma holders.
As a precautionary step to prevent registration of candidates with fake pharmacy qualification, the Council has stopped registration of pharmacy students belonging to SunRise University and OPJS University in Rajasthan from January 21, 2019 after the arrest of four pharmacists with bogus qualification bearing the name of these Universities.
Confirming this, Vijay Patil, president of MSPC told Pharmabiz that during police investigation, it was found that the four pharmacists who were recently arrested had bogus D.Pharm certificates bearing the name of SunRise University and OPJS University in Rajasthan. Hence we have decided to stop registration of candidates from these universities till the probe is going on, he added.
He said as per Section 32(2) of Pharmacy Act, the MSPC conducts document verification of pharmacists before their registration. Once a pharmacy college confirms that the students aged 18 years or above have passed out from their institutes and they reside or do business in Maharashtra, we have no option but to allow their registration.
It is learnt that there are several pharmacy colleges in Karnataka and Rajasthan offering working candidates opportunity to study from home in violation of attendance norms of Pharmacy Council of India. They help candidates clear the examinations and get the pharmacy qualifications—D.Pharm, B.Pharm. Such candidates often lack requisite professional skills thus posing risk to public health.
In a bid to prevent such candidates from registering with the MSPC, we had started skill test of candidates having pharmacy qualification from other states or transferring their registration to Maharashtra from other states. The test was later stopped following a directive from PCI, said Patil.
