4 arrested for operating inter-state medical admission scam

Bhubaneswar: Police on Saturday arrested four persons from a city bar allegedly involved in an inter-state MBBS admission scam in private medical colleges. The accused have been identified as Priyadarshi Kumar from Jharkhand, Arvind Kumar from Bihar, and local residents Sunil Samantray and Rudra Narayan Behera. Police said the group was caught while attempting to broker an illegal admission deal.
"It is a fraudulent admission racket through proxy candidates who are going to appear for NEET. The racket, operating across Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, targeted aspiring medical students willing to pay substantial amounts for guaranteed admission. The accused charged between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh per candidate, collecting payments in instalments," said commissioner of police S Dev Datta Singh.
Police said the operation was highly organised, with local scouts receiving Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for identifying potential candidates. "The syndicate, it seems, manipulates admit cards and employs proxy candidates to take the NEET," he said.
Investigation revealed that the group used sophisticated methods to manipulate examination centres and facilitate impersonation. The racket assures to fix an examination centre, in which impersonation or other unfair practices are feasible.
During raids, police seized incriminating evidence, including documents of multiple candidates, three cheques totalling Rs 90 lakh, and forged NRI sponsorship certificates. A blank cheque, suspected to belong to an aspirant, was also recovered. Police have also seized two cars and papers pertaining to two plots.
Police said that analysis of the mobile phones of the accused revealed extensive communications and financial transactions related to illegal admissions. "Investigation is on and we expect more arrests as we uncover the full extent of the network," Singh added. The special crime unit has established a special task force to investigate similar operations in other states and is working closely with medical education authorities to prevent such fraudulent activities.