4 booked for cheating 9 medical aspirants of ₹45L

MUMBAI: Four booked for cheating nine medical aspirants of ₹45 lakh by falsely promising admissions through SEZ Academy in Sakinaka.

MUMBAI: The Sakinaka police have booked four persons for cheating nine medical aspirants to the tune of ₹45 lakh. Police said the accused operated the SEZ academy in Sakinaka and falsely assured guardians of securing medical admissions for their wards.

4 booked for cheating 9 medical aspirants of ₹45L

One of the complainants, Suryakant Gaikwad, a Chembur resident, mentioned in the FIR that when his daughter was looking for admission in a medical college after clearing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, he came across a Facebook advertisement of SEZ Academy in November 2024, that claimed they could help in securing an MBBS seat.

When he visited the academy, the retired RBI employee was assured that they could arrange his daughter’s admission on a lesser budget in Prakash Institute of Medical Sciences & Research in Sangli. On November 4, Gaikwad met Pratiksha Angre, Aradhya Chaturvedi and Ravindara Saket, who claimed to be the heads of Sez academy, for securing a seat. They demanded ₹68.50 lakh for the entire admission process, asking him to hurry up as purportedly only one seat was left. Thereafter, the victim issued a cheque of ₹5 lakh to them.

But Gaikwad got a rude shock when he directly contacted Prakash Institute of Medical Sciences & Research and found out that his daughter’s name was not in the list of admitted students. SEZ academy stopped responding to his calls and when he visited their office, he found it shut.

The victim later came to know that the accused had defrauded other parents also of their money, collectively amounting to ₹45 lakh. The police have booked the trio who claimed to be heads of SEZ academy and a certain Amit Sharma under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.