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Inter-state gang selling PG medical seats busted; scores of students cheated
The investigating officer said details of several students, who were in touch with the agency were obtained in the raid on the consultancy firm and the name of the kingpin, one Vishal Kumar was revealed.
Madhya Pradesh police busted a high-profile, inter-state, Delhi-based gang involved in duping MBBS pass outs on the pretext of getting them admission in post graduate (PG) courses in different medical colleges. Management of some colleges and even police officials are believed to be part of the gang, which used to charge up to ₹1.5 crore to offer admissions, according to initial investigation by the police.
“Employees of government and private medical colleges in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan Police are also part of the gang. Police are trying to identify the employees with the help of doctors,” said Rewa inspector general of police, Umesh Joga.
The gang of 12-14 persons cheated more than 150 students of amounts ranging from ₹80 lakh to 1.5 crore in the past four years across 15 states, said police. Rewa police arrested a manager of a consultancy company from its Bali Nagar office in Delhi in the case and was trying to nab the alleged kingpin, Vishal Kumar, a resident of Dwarka in Delhi.
The lid was blown off the elaborate network in March first week, when Dr Raghvendra Tiwari from Rewa lodged a police complaint claiming he was duped of ₹42.50 lakh by a Delhi-based consultancy company named Royal Immigration and Students Consultancy.
Tiwari told police he was approached in January 2020 by the firm, promising help in securing admission to PG courses in prestigious medical colleges in exchange for ₹80 lakh. Tiwari, who completed his MBBS degree in 2013, said he paid an advance of ₹9.50 lakh and was told to appear in Medical Education Common Entrance Examination (MECEE) for PG courses in Nepal.
“The admission process was delayed due to the Covid-19 lockdown in April last year. In January this year, I appeared in MECEE in Kathmandu, Nepal and the consultancy manager told me in February that I had qualified and will get admission to Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi. They called me in Delhi and introduced me to two employees of the medical college. They explained allotment details and also provided a receipt and an allotment letter. Later, I gave ₹33 lakh to the consultancy. After this, the consultancy manager stopped taking my calls and when I contacted the medical college in March, they told me that the receipt and the allotment letter were fake,” said Tiwari.
The investigating officer Shivpooran Sharma said a team of police contacted the consultancy posing as a dummy candidate.
“We told them that we wanted to fix the deal, the office staff called a manager, Lalit Gupta, a resident of Rohtak, Haryana. He explained to us that they have connections at many prestigious colleges in India and will ensure 100% admission to the colleges. We raided the office immediately and arrested him on Sunday,” said Sharma.
Sharma said details of several students, who were in touch with the agency were obtained in the raid and the name of the kingpin, one Vishal Kumar was revealed. Lalit Gupta also confessed to have duped at least 150 students, mostly from small cities of states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Rajasthan and others. He also confessed to have got some students admitted through management quota with the connivance of the management of some medical colleges, Sharma added.
“Gupta made startling revelations, but we can’t share it without proof,” Sharma said.
The police have seized 16 accounts opened in the name of the consultancy and found a list of 35 students, who made a deal with the firm to procure admissions in exchange for money. “We will take Tiwari and other students to the colleges to identify the employees involved in the racket, said the police officer.
