PATNA, April 10 -- The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), an autonomous medical college under the Bihar government, has constituted a four-member fact-finding committee to investigate allegations of malpractice in the ongoing MBBS final year examinations, 2026, officials said on Thursday. The committee, formed earlier this week, has been tasked with submitting its report within one week, by April 14. The inquiry was initiated following an anonymous complaint emailed on March 11 to the IGIMS director, dean, registrar and the undergraduate Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission. The complainant alleged the existence of a racket involving an outsourced non-academic staff member posted in the examination wing and others, who were purportedly engaged in changing answer sheets in exchange for money. The email further claimed that students willing to pay were allowed to write in answer sheets after the examination and alleged that around 40-50 students of the 2021 batch were involved. The allegations gained further traction after a senior faculty member from the pathology department reportedly flagged the unexpectedly high performance of a student considered academically weak. Upon scrutiny, the student's answer sheet was found to be "uncoded" - a deviation from standard protocol where identifying details are removed and answer sheets are coded to ensure anonymity and impartial evaluation. The faculty member declined to comment on the issue, citing lack of authorisation to speak to the media. The complaint, though anonymous in nature, assumes significance in the backdrop of the recent resignation of Dr Prakash Kumar Dubey as dean (examination), barely two months after his appointment. A professor and head of the anaesthesiology department, Dr Dubey had assumed charge on February 1 but stepped down within six weeks. He is due to retire early next year. Sources familiar with the matter said Dr Dubey had informed the institute's director about the complaint and alleged irregularities in examination conduct prior to his resignation. He was also reportedly aware of a video purportedly showing the involvement of a senior faculty member linked to the examination cell. Attempts to elicit a response from Dr Dubey were unsuccessful. "You may talk to the director on this issue," he said briefly before hanging up the phone. Following his resignation, the institute on April 2 assigned the charge of dean (examination) to Prof (Dr) Neeru Goel, head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department. In an order of January 23, she had earlier been nominated associate dean (academic)-I from February 1. The probe committee is headed by Dr Om Kumar, professor and head of nephrology and current dean (academics). Other members include registrar Dr Sarvesh Kumar Singh, deputy director (administration) Prof (Dr) Bibhuti Prassan Sinha - who also heads the ophthalmology department - and chief administrative officer Praful Ranjan. IGIMS director Dr Bindey Kumar said he was out of Patna on official duty and directed queries to Dr Om Kumar, who is officiating in his absence. "The committee is investigating the matter. It won't be proper to comment at this stage," Dr Om Kumar said....