ED Crackdown on 4 WB Medical Colleges, Attaches Rs 12.33 Crore in NRI Admission Fraud

Kolkata: In a recent crackdown on alleged irregularities in medical admissions, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached bank balances worth Rs 12.33 crore belonging to two individuals and four private medical colleges in West Bengal, as part of its ongoing investigation into a "cash-for-admission" scam under the NRI quota.

The central agency, probing violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has so far identified and attached Rs 23.67 crore in connection with the racket involving private medical colleges in West Bengal and Odisha. The scam revolves around the alleged use of fake NRI certificates and counterfeit documents to secure MBBS and MD/MS seats for hefty sums.

Speaking to UNI, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday informed it has attached bank balances worth Rs. 12.33 crore of two individuals and four private medical colleges in West Bengal in the alleged cash for admission scam under the NRI quota. The probe agency has so far attached Rs 23.67 crore linked to the alleged admission racket in private medical colleges in Bengal and Odisha under NRI quota.

The federal agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), has started an investigation based on an FIR registered by West Bengal Police and raided several locations of the accused private medical colleges in the two states and their key persons, agents and other related persons.

"During searches, several incriminating pieces of evidence including counterfeit stamps of notaries in the USA, fake NRI certificates for medical admissions under NRI quota were recovered," the ED said.

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The investigation agency also recorded statements of various persons including trustees and key persons of those medical colleges, their agents and other related persons during the search operations. The probe revealed that the guidelines set by the Supreme Court for admissions under the NRI quota in the private medical institutions have been flouted by the accused medical colleges in a large number of cases.

"As per rule, the NRI sponsors have to be first and second degree blood relatives. It is found that these medical colleges and their management/ key managerial persons in collusion with agents, lured the candidates and indulged in creation of fake certificates of NRIs, for admission under those quota," the ED said.

The investigation also revealed that the agents were preparing fake documents at the behest of the medical colleges.

"These accused medical colleges were paying the agents for preparing fake documents with hefty fees of Rs. 1-1.5 crore (approx.), for each MBBS seat and Rs. 3 to 4 crore (approx.) for each MD/MS seat under NRI quota.

The agents had also approached and obtained credentials of unrelated NRIs by paying money and used these credentials for preparing fake documents projecting these unrelated NRIs as sponsors for students, the ED claimed.

In some cases, the agents and medical colleges used the same set of NRI sponsor documents for 2-3 different and unrelated candidates.

The federal agency's investigations also revealed that in spite of categorical information of forgery in case of certain NRI sponsors provided by the Ministry of External Affairs in response to the letter from local state authority, no action has been taken by the authorities concerned. As of now, proceeds of crime (POC) of Rs. 23.67 crore have been identified .The probe is on.

In February, ED carried out raids and searches at 8 Private Medical Colleges at six locations in West Bengal in connection with irregularities in admissions to private medical colleges under the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota. The six locations include Kolkata and adjoining South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts.

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