A fact-finding committee appointed by the university to look into the allegations levelled by Irani in a complaint has found that the professor had victimised her. Irani, a third-year student, had lodged a complaint with the vice-chancellor of University of Mumbai on December 23, 1997, immediately after appearing for her practical examination. Dr Patil was a substitute examiner at the examination and Irani scored abysmally low marks in the examination and had to reappear.

The complaint said the professor with whom she had taken a tuition had tried to molest her in his car. Patil at that time was a faculty member of the MGM College. Irani alsoaccused him of threatening her after she stopped going to his tuition.

The three-member fact-finding committee headed by Director of the College and University Development Board Dr M N Welling held at least 13 meetings and interviewed around 20 people. Dr Patil was called four times and twice he refused to cooperate.

Irani told the committee that when Dr Patil was a faculty member of her college, he had asked her to take tuitions at his residence in Chembur for Medicine and Surgery. Irani then enrolled for the tuitions and began going to his residence regularly. Dr Patil often gave lift to his students and colleagues in his car on his way to the college and back. One day when Irani was alone in the car with Dr Patil he began asking her personal questions like whether she was virgin and if she had a boyfriend. He later held her hand. From that day on Irani stopped going to his tuitions. However, Dr Patil called at her residence several times and asked her to rejoin the class. When she refused, he beganthreatening her.

The fact-finding committee's report notes that Dr Patil misled the university authorities by wrongly stating in an undertaking taken from him before being allowed to take up examining work that he took no classes. It also says that while Patil charged Rs 50,000 from other students, he had asked Irani to pay only Rs 20,000.

The report further notes that though it was difficult to prove what exactly transpired in the car that day, the committee was not ruling out the possibility of such an incident taking place going by the circumstantial evidence that was brought before it.

The report also elaborates how Patil manipulated rules to become the substitute examiner at MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai when he already had an assignment at the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane. It says that he took advantage of the loopholes in the rule book and also enlisted the help of a clerk, Bharti Chowre, working at the M G M College.

Dr Patil also switched the examiners' pairs (in medical examinationtwo examiners are paired together to evaluate a part of practical examination) and went for short cases (carrying the maximum 60 marks). In this he opted to work with a co-examiner junior to him.

Professor of Surgery, GM College, Dr G B Davar, who was the senior professor in this particular examination, told the committee that he did point out disproportionately low marks given to a couple of candidates, including Irani by Patil and his co-examiner. Dr Davar maintained that the same students had fared well in other examination taken by him and his co-examiner.

The panel tabled its report to the VC in September. It was tabled before the Board of Examination in the second week of Oct when it gave the debarrment order.