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Elusive medical seat fraud mastermind nabbed in Lucknow
Lucknow Cyber Crime Police seize digital equipment, forged documents, official seals and nearly ₹5 lakh in cash from rented office; associate also arrested
LUCKNOW The mastermind of a multi-state medical seat fraud, infamously known for escaping Bihar Police custody by jumping off a moving train in 2023, was arrested in Lucknow on Wednesday after two years. The accused, Abhinav Sharma, 35, a B.tech graduate, was running a multi-crore NEET admission scam and duped families across states, including UP and Lucknow, said DCP (crime) Kamlesh Dixit.
“He was operating under multiple aliases...the arrest was made by the Lucknow Cyber Crime Police who seized digital equipment, forged documents, official seals and nearly ₹5 lakh in cash from a rented office near Kathauta Jheel. His associate, a Class 12 passout Santosh Kumar, 34, was also arrested,” he added.
According to earlier investigations in Bihar, the accused was lodged in Patna’s Beur Jail in connection with several admission frauds.
While being transported from Saharanpur after a court hearing in October 2023, Sharma jumped off a moving train near Hind railway station in UP and vanished, said Cyber Police station incharge Brijesh Yadav. The escape triggered the suspension of six Bihar Police personnel and exposed a large network of racketeers dealing in fraudulent admissions. Since then, he resurfaced in multiple cities under different identities, running fake consultancies and using forged IDs to continue his operations while evading agencies.
The DCP said the gang purchased data of NEET-qualified candidates from online platforms and reached out to parents of low-merit students through social media ads. “Operating as ‘study consultancies’, they promised MBBS seats under management quota at reputed institutes. They impersonated the Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, created fake websites and social media handles, opened bank accounts in the institute’s name and collected hefty advance fees,” added the officer.
The accused also conned multiple people in Lucknow. The amounts paid by complainants include ₹45 lakh (by Vijay Bahadur), ₹20 lakh (Rajesh Verma), ₹38 lakh (Deep Singh), ₹23 lakh (Preeti Singh), ₹18 lakh (Anil Kumar) and ₹45 lakh (Smita Rao), stated a release issued by Lucknow Police.
The police believe many more victims across states may now come forward. Acting under the directions of senior officers, including the commissioner of police and DCP (crime), the cyber crime unit tracked the fugitive to Lucknow, where he was arrested on November 25.
The police recovered three mobile phones, six CPUs and six monitors, wi-fi dongle & router, two official stamps, a cheque book in the name of Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, PAN and Aadhaar cards and ₹4,98,490 cash from the hideout.
Officials are now examining digital devices and bank accounts to trace the money trail. More arrests are likely as investigators identify associates who helped operate the fake admissions network across states.
