Promise of MBBS seat at Sion Medical College, Fraudsters dupe man of Rs 11 lakh

Mumbai: In an alleged medical seat fraud case, a 52-year-old man was cheated of Rs 11.47 lakh by seven fraudsters who promised him to provide his daughter an MBBS seat at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital, Sion. Subsequently, seven accused have been booked in connection with the case. 

A case of cheating and forgery was registered by the police against the seven accused on Sunday based on the victim's complaint. 

The history of the incident goes back to early 2021, however, no police complaint was filed at that time. The case came to light after the victim decided to take action against the accused. 

According to the police, the victim was introduced to one of the fraudsters through a friend in a restaurant in Chembur on January 19, 2021. The fraudster is believed to be the mastermind of the group. 

Also read- MBBS Admission Racket Busted: 4 Held For Duping Aspirants For Six Months, Probe On

Since the fraudster was in search of a medical seat for his daughter, his friend introduced him to the mastermind who claimed to secure a medical seat for the victim's daughter at Sion Medical College. In order to execute the work, the fraudster charged Rs Rs 12.3 lakh. 

In response, the victim agreed to the proposal and told the fraudster that he would give the money in instalments. 

“On January 21, 2021, I gave them Rs 5 lakh and my daughter’s documents for admission. On January 22, I gave another Rs 3.4 lakh in two instalments," said the victim. 

In order to enhance the authenticity of the scheme, another fraudster identifying himself as Shishir Singh contacted the victim alleging that he was a project manager at a reputed college. This was done to deceive the victim further. He told the victim that his daughter could gain admission at the medical college through management quota, however, he alleged that it would cost more money. 

Later, the group started to ask for more money by threatening the victim that his daughter's admission would be cancelled. 

Speaking about the crime, a police officer told The Indian Express, “The group of accused reached out to the complainant repeatedly and took money by threatening to cancel his daughter’s admission. When the 52-year-old asked about the lectures, the accused claimed that due to Covid-19, physical lectures were not happening. In the last week of April 2021, the fraudsters even conducted a fake lecture online in which two of them even posed as fellow students to win the confidence of the complainant and subsequently demanded more money."

The complainant’s daughter began receiving emails supposedly from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital and was even given a fake college ID card and other documents.

The victim was struck with the realization of being deceived when his daughter was refused entry into the college for practicals due to invalid college identification and registration.

The complainant then contacted them and asked them to return the money. The fraudsters initially threatened to cancel the admission but later admitted to duping him and promised to return his money.

When the fraudster failed to return the money, the victim approached the police and filed a complaint. An investigation into the case is underway. 

Also read- MBBS Admission Racket Busted: 2 Arrested For Duping Aspirants Of Rs 1 Crore, Probe On