MBBS admission racket busted in Maharashtra, MBBS graduate among five arrested

Mumbai: A big racket which cheated students to the tune of Rs 3.30 crore under the pretext of facilitating admission to medical colleges was recently busted and the five accused, including an MBBS graduate, were arrested by the Navi Mumbai police. 

The accused had cheated students from Navi Mumbai town in Thane district, neighbouring Mumbai, Gujarat and other places, Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe told reporters on Wednesday.

Also Read:Noida MBBS Admission Racket: 3 people arrested for duping over 50 MBBS aspirants

The gang was formed in 2017 to make money by cheating aspiring medical students. The gang members, operating for the last five to seven years, would contact students getting less marks in the pre-medical National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and offer them admission in medical colleges by charging a hefty amount, he said. They promised to help students get admission in management quota using the power of social media. 

The accused persons claimed to have influence in the managements of seven prominent medical colleges in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and also produced fabricated admission letters before the victims to gain their confidence and get money in cash or through the digital mode, the official said. They used to get the details of students from the websites where they had applied for admissions, he said.

Bharambe said, "The main target of the gang has been those students who scored low in NEET exam and have slim chances of getting admission through merit. Students, who scored poorly in NEET, would contact them through their advertisement and provide their mobile numbers. One of them would then contact the person and promise admission in any reputed medical college. The gang would then fix a price as per the capacity of the person. On January 13 this year, we got a complaint from a Chhattisgarh resident who was conned in Nerul of ₹33.50 lakh." 

The accused would take the students to the medical colleges and the office of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to show their influence and get them fake admission letters, the official said. 

Bharambe said the police got the first complaint when the accused allegedly cheated a student from Chhattisgarh and took Rs 33.5 lakh from her by promising to get her admission in a medical college in Nerul area of Navi Mumbai. The accused also gave her a fake admission letter, he said. The Nerul police registered an offence in this connection, after the 50-year-old father of the student gave the complaint.

One of the accused, the MBBS graduate asked the duo to meet him at the DY Patil Medical College in Nerul, following which he took them around the college campus and finalised the admission for ₹1 crore for the course. Subsequently, they transferred Rs 5 lakh to the account of the accused on the first day. 

The accused also began sending letters to the complainant using the college letterhead stating that the admission was in process. By the end of January 2023, the complainant had transferred around Rs 33.50 lakh to the accused. However, when they did not receive any admission letter from the college, the complainant reached the college and showed them the previously written letters which were fabricated by the accused. 

When the college denied issuing any such letters, the complainant went to the police station and registered a complaint following which the police planned a trap for the accused. Following the trap, she told the accused that she is ready to pay Rs 15 lakh more in cash and she required the admission letter immediately. After that, the accused decided to meet her near Vashi Railway Station. Police Inspector (crime) Sanjay Chavan from Nerul Police Station said, "The accused came with a forged admission letter on the college letterhead and our team nabbed them." 

They worked on various intelligence and technical inputs and subsequently nabbed the five accused, identified as Saurabh Krishna Upadyaya (39), Iftekar Ahmed Mustaq Ahmed alias Abhay Singh alias Gautam (31) (both from Noida), Lav Avadkishore Gupta (35), hailing from Mumbai, Akib Naushad Ahmed (28) and Abhijyat Radhesyam Singh (41), both from Ghaziabad, he said. 

Upadhyay, who is an MBBS graduate has a criminal record against him since 2014. Tanaji Bhagat, senior police inspector, Nerul Police Station told the Hindustan Times, "Though a doctor himself, he never got himself registered and hence, has not practiced as a doctor." The other four arrested members have been identified as engineers. Ahmed and Gupta have criminal cases registered against their name in UP. 

Sanjay Mohite, joint Commissioner said, "We have so far found two bank accounts at Noida and found a transaction of ₹3.30 crore. Being a current account, all the money that was earned by cheating others, has been withdrawn from the account. We have also seized a few gadgets from them and are looking into it." 

With the arrest of the five accused, the police said they have solved the cheating cases registered in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Bhandara district in Maharashtra. They were earlier reported within the jurisdictions of Sir JJ Marg police station, MRA Marg police station, Alibaug Police station and Bhandara City Police Station for previous crimes. 

Offences had earlier also been registered against the accused at different places in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Navi Mumbai, Gujarat, Palghar and Mumbai, the police said. The accused had cheated students by promising them admissions to colleges like Sir JJ Medical College, Sion Medical College, Nair Medical College, Alibaug Government Medical College, Dr. DY Patil Medical College, Terna Medical College, MGM Medical College. 

Bharambe appealed to medical aspirants not to fall prey to such frauds and contact the Navi Mumbai police if they have been cheated. He said, "Citizens should not fall prey to any kind of temptation to get admission in MBBS. If anyone is cheated in such a manner, they should immediately report to the nearest police station. Immediate action will be taken in this regard."