Medical seats racket: Fraudsters swindle Rs 5 cr from 15 wannabe doctors

Bengaluru, Sept 2: Aakashneel Dalal, an 18-year-old from Jharkhand, who had appeared for the NEET exam, received a call from a man introducing himself as Manoj Das from the KEA. The caller informed that Dalal has a poor score in NEET but he could arrange a medical seat for him at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI). Dalal and family trusted the caller and gave him Rs 11.6 lakh after meeting him personally around two weeks ago. Das asked Dalal to go back to Jharkhand and return to Bengaluru for admission on August 30. When Dalal visited the college, he realised that he was cheated.

This is just one of the dozens of such cases surfaced in recent days in Bengaluru wherein medical seat aspirants were duped by an interstate gang or perhaps more than one gangs. According to police sources, around 40 students and their parents have been duped by a slew of fake agencies after the process of filling up management seats for MBBS courses began in the city.

In last three weeks, at least 15 cases of individuals or agencies cheating parents and students have been registered at different police stations in the city. More than Rs 5 crore has changed hands in the 15 cases, with parents losing in the range of Rs 10-70 lakh.

A senior police officer said, “Every year, during the medical seat distribution time, there are many such cases registered. The touts get the names and numbers of MBBS aspirants through NEET registrations and result sheets. It is a large-scale scam and the victims are mostly from other states. There are gangs which have cheated hundreds of students. People have to be extremely careful.”

“They are so organised that they have access to a database of seat seekers who are approached through hired tele-callers or through bulk SMSs,” said an investigating officer, adding that the fraudsters also create separate bank accounts for the purpose, using fake identities and credentials. “But in most cases they demand cash in exchange for their services, which enables them to even lay below the income tax department’s radar,” he said.

“We don’t know why parents approach such people, or entertain them when they are approached?” lamented DCP (central) D Devaraj. “Those with merit don’t take shortcuts to obtain admission. They go through the proper channels. So, this is a vicious cycle where everybody involved are to be blamed,” said S Kumar, executive secretary of ComedK and chancellor of Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.