Somaiya college admission racket: One more clerk held

Tilak Nagar police arrested the fourth accused, Pandit Karanke, 42, a clerk at a Ghatkopar-based school, in connection with the Somaiya College admission racket. He was assigned to verify documents at verification centre during the admission process of class 11, in academic year 2024-25

MUMBAI: The Tilak Nagar police on Friday arrested the fourth accused, Pandit Karanke, 42, a junior clerk in the state education department, in connection with the Somaiya College admission racket. The police said Karanke was assigned to verify documents online at the verification centre during the admission process of class 11, in the academic year 2024-25.

Mumbai...22nd June 2011... Campus of K.J. Somaiya College - Photo by Rajendra Gawankar (Hindustan Times)

Karanke was arrested on Friday. Earlier, police had arrested three persons, including two clerks of Somaiya college, Mahendra Patil and Arjun Rathod, and another person named Devendra Saide, who fabricated bogus marksheets and leaving certificates (LC) of around 50 students to facilitate their admission, after taking ₹2-3 lakh from each.

Karanke was assigned the duty for document verification at the Ghatkopar East admission centre. During interrogation, it was learnt that he approved the fake documents allegedly sent by arrested accused Rathod. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody till December 25.

The FIR was registered on December 16, based on a complaint filed by principal Dr. Kishan Pawar of K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, who alleged that students, who were ineligible for admission, got their percentage fraudulently increased with help from the suspects in lieu of monetary benefits, and some students were found to have obtained admission with fake certificates.

The case was registered under charges of cheating, forgery, breach of trust and other acts of criminal conspiracy, against five individuals, including two staff members of the college.

The incident came to light after the parents of a student approached the principal when he did not get admission despite good percentage. The principal then started checking and found out about the scam. The college authorities set up a scrutiny committee, which contacted the students and their parents through email and also on phone asking them to visit the college with original documents. On verification of the documents, it was found that 50 students got in illegally, said inspector Dilip Mane of Tilak Nagar police station.

The clerks were running a cash-for-admission racket across colleges of Somaiya Vidyavihar University. The scam was busted in K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, Vidyavihar, Shri S K Somaiyya Vinay Mandir Secondary School and Junior College, and K J Somaiyya College of Science and Commerce, said the police officer.

The accused clerks, Mahendra Patil and Arjun Rathod, along with three of their associates, Kamleshbhai, Jitubhai and Babubhai, also generated login IDs and passwords for the students to help secure their admissions, the officer said.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed under an assistant commissioner of police rank officer for further probe.