Interestingly, Dimple was declared first in M.A.-II (Public Administration) in April 1997-98 and on April 4, 1999, was awarded a certificate of merit and a medal for securing a first position in the Panjab University. But yesterday, at the PU convocation rehearsal, authorities said that Satbir had secured more marks than Dimple and hence he was eligible for the gold medal. Reportedly, Satbir's result was delayed and was not known when Dimple was notified by the university authorities of her first ranking. Talking to Newsline, Dimple's parents Neena Malik and N.S. Malik said: "If Satbir had secured more marks then why did he keep quiet for 13 long months?"

They said that when they tried to contact the Vice-Chancellor last night, they were told to approach him through the "proper channel." Neena Malik said: "When we tried to reason with the Controller of Examinations, Sodhi Ram, this morning minutes before the convocation, he denied having any knowledge about the case. He simply said he had no idea as to who had given the medal and the certificate to Dimple in April. He said she had secured second position and was eligible for the silver medal only."

Calling it a "brazen manipulation by the PU authorities", Neena and N.S. Malik said that "our daughter was suffering due to the lapse on the part of PU authorities."

The Controller of Examination when contacted said that the medal was awarded to Satbir Singh as per the available record. "We can only check it up tomorrow as to how she was awarded the medal for standing first in April", he said.