Lucknow: A major admission fraud racket has been busted in Lucknow with police arresting two men who allegedly ran a fake consultancy that used forged identities of Hind Institute of Medical Sciences to dupe medical aspirants of crores.
The gang reportedly operated through fake websites, bank accounts and rented offices to convince students and parents they could secure MBBS and engineering seats through management quota.
Speaking to PTI, the police said, "Two men have been arrested for allegedly running a fake admission consultancy in Lucknow that impersonated a well-known medical institute and cheated students and parents of crores of rupees."
The case came to light after several victims complained that the accused were collecting money in the name of Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, on the pretext of securing admissions in MBBS, engineering and other courses, DCP (Crime) Kamlesh Kumar Dixit told reporters.
According to the police, the complainant reported on November 1 that the accused, identified as Sharma, 35, and Kumar, 34, and their associates had taken Rs 45 lakh from him -- Rs 20 lakh from one, Rs 38 lakh from another and Rs 23 lakh from one more individual
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Separate complaints were also filed by two other victims, who alleged fraud of Rs 18 lakh and Rs 45 lakh, respectively, police said.
The police said the accused opened fake bank accounts, created counterfeit websites and Instagram pages and operated from rented offices to give the appearance of a legitimate consultancy.
They allegedly targeted NEET-qualified students with low ranks by purchasing their data online and luring their families with promises of management-quota seats in reputed medical colleges in Barabanki and Sitapur.
The two accused were arrested near Kathauta Lake in Lucknow on Monday.
During interrogation, one of them admitted that they contacted parents through call centres, summoned them to their office and collected money through demand drafts, online transfers and cash.
A police team formed under the cyber crime unit recovered Rs 4.9 lakh in cash, three mobile phones, six CPUs, six monitors, a Wi-Fi router, a dongle, seals, a cheque book, PAN and Aadhaar cards from the gang.
According to police, the accused had also opened multiple bank accounts in the name of the medical institute to facilitate the fraud.
Police are verifying additional complaints filed in other districts, they said, adding that further investigation is underway.
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