BENGALURU: Karnataka Union of Medical, Engineering, Dental Colleges (ComedK), which conducts the ComedK UG Entrance Test (UGET), has barred 36 students from participating in the counseling process over alleged medical malpractice.ComedK UGET, which holds the key to 32,670 engineering seats in private engineering colleges in Karnataka, was held on May 9 at 400 centers in 280 cities. Around 1,10,774 candidates (36,954 Karnataka and 73,820 non-Karnataka) appeared for the computer-based examination which was conducted in two sessions. The percentile score of the candidates was taken into consideration while declaring the rankings.When the results were announced on May 29, not a single student from Karnataka made it to the top ten. Five top players in the top six were from Jamshedpur. The third position is occupied by Uttarakhand. The 7th ranked one is from Andhra Pradesh, the 8th ranked one is from Chhattisgarh, the 9th ranked one is from Punjab and the 10th ranked one is from Bihar. Asked about the concentration of top players from one state, Kumar told TOI that the team will check CCTV footage and video records to check accuracy.The suspected students appeared for examinations at three centers in Jamshedpur: Jai Sri Infotech, Govinda Vidyalaya and Creative Computers. Most of the suspects are in the top 500, with four in the top 10. ComedK informed each identified candidate individually and provided them an opportunity to appear before the ComedK authorities in Bengaluru on or before July 10, 2026.Candidates will be allowed to examine materials substantiating their participation and submit explanations before a final decision regarding disqualification or disqualification is made. These candidates will not be allowed to participate in the ongoing counseling and seat selection process until the investigation is completed.According to ComedK officials, the students were suspected of receiving outside exam help, which was provided through proctors, and ComedK also sent notifications to proctors.ComedK officials said that as part of its established protocol, a comprehensive academic, administrative and forensic review was conducted immediately upon completion of the inspection and release of final results. During this audit, certain anomalies were discovered at the Jamshedpur centre.“We check six criteria in our academic and administrative audits. For example, how do students perform in the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of the exam? The exam is a three-hour paper with 180 questions. We expect students to take no more than one minute to answer each question. In some cases, we find that students are not very active at the beginning but complete 80-90 questions in the last half hour. We carefully watched the CCTV footage of these students and found sufficient evidence of fraud. These evidences will be presented to the students as they come up with explanations,” said ComedK secretary S Kumar.“Similarly, we have academic moderation: we check the quality of exam papers, using processes such as item analysis, interference indexes, and check student responses to stray questions. We also examined whether 12th grade scores matched students’ abilities based on their performance on the ComedK exam. We’ve been doing this since 2006,” he said.“Subsequent detailed verification with the assistance of ComedK exam service providers and technology partners resulted in credible and conclusive evidence that certain candidates and personnel engaged in conduct that amounted to exam fraud.”Kumar said a police complaint would be lodged once the students are allowed to present their arguments on July 10. “ComedK has formally informed the Admissions Oversight Committee (AOC) of these developments, ensuring that the statutory oversight body is fully informed of the steps being taken to safeguard the integrity of the admissions process. All actions taken are strictly in compliance with the ComedK UGET-2026 Information Manual and Counseling Manual, which authorizes ComedK to disqualify candidates, bar candidates, learn from future inspections and take other necessary steps if misconduct is detected,” Dr Kumar said. “