Cops look for leads in MBBS admission scam

Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is on the lookout for eight people accused of running an admission scam amounting to Rs. 2.5 crore. cheating at least 20 by promising them admission to MBBS courses.

Police said at least 20 victims across the country were cheated around six months ago by an agency allegedly floated by the accused, named Aspiration, that catered specifically to those who have failed to crack MBBS entrance exams. The agency had centres in Jaipur, Bengaluru and Sanpada in Navi Mumbai. The complainants are from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.

Senior PI Shivaji Awate, EOW-I , said, “The accused had demanded a commission for ‘guaranteed’ admission to MBBS courses, which varied from victim to victim. Someone contacting them from one State was asked to meet them in a different State. This was done to ensure that follow-ups by victims would be difficult. The agency had promised admissions to Dr. DY Patil MBBS College in Nerul, Navi Mumbai. All complainants till now are from States other than Maharashtra.”

Those unable to visit their centres were asked to deposit the amount in bank accounts, which was later withdrawn. Once the money was in, the accused avoided victims’ calls, police said, and eventually closed their centres, after which the numbers provided for contact were unreachable.

The case was first registered at Sanpada police station in December 2016 and was transferred to EOW-I last week as the number of complainants grew.

“The documents used by the accused for procuring SIM cards and opening bank accounts were fake. We are yet to get leads in the case. A team has gone to Rajasthan as they had a branch in Jaipur. As of now, we know there were eight people involved in the fraud, but there could be more,” Mr. Awate said.