Crime branch arrests key accused in medical seat fraud case
Uttar Pradesh: In a major medical seat fraud case, the Crime Branch has arrested the main accused, who defrauded students and parents across India.
The accused was detained in Uttar Pradesh by a team from the Kerala Crime Branch in an operation.
Following the instructions from ADGP (Crime Branch) H Venkatesh, a special investigation team led by DSP K Sajeev, under the supervision of Crime Branch Superintendent of Police Sudarshan, Thiruvananthapuram, tracked down and apprehended the man, who had been absconding for the past five years.
In 2020, the man defrauded a resident from Parashuvakal, promising him a seat at DY Patil Medical College in Mumbai and collected ₹20 lakh through direct payment and bank transfer. He also presented the victim with a fake admission letter on campus to convince him.
However, the Neyyattinkara police first registered the case and then transferred it to the Crime Branch. He was produced before the Neyyattinkara JFCM-1 court, which remanded him to 14 days' judicial custody.
According to a TOI media news report, the accused allegedly ran extensive online and social media advertisements from Delhi and Noida, promising medical seats at top colleges across India. He defrauded numerous students and parents, duping them with the promise of admission to a reputable institution.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported a similar case where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a comprehensive chargesheet revealing the laundering of crores of black money in the pretext of arranging MBBS seats involving the former CSI (Church of South India) Bishop of the Karakonam Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College Hospital.
The chargesheet, submitted this week to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kaloor, Ernakulam, implicates the former CSI Bishop allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 7 crore from parents in exchange for MBBS seats.
