Nerul police hunt gang behind fraud involving fake admission promises to DY Patil Medical College, duping two families | Representational Image
Navi Mumbai: Nerul police have launched a manhunt for a gang that allegedly duped two families from Chhattisgarh and Karnataka of Rs 73.61 lakh by promising medical postgraduate seats at DY Patil Medical College in Nerul under the management quota.
According to officials, the fraudsters used fake admission letters, forged receipts, and impersonated representatives of the medical college to gain the trust of the victims. Two separate FIRs have been registered, and police believe more victims may have been targeted using similar tactics.
Ramakant Swarnkar, a resident of Chhattisgarh, approached the gang in May 2022 seeking a PG seat in General Surgery for his daughter. The accused promised her admission at DY Patil Medical College and collected Rs 1.27 crore. They sent a fake receipt showing Rs 10 lakh tuition fee payment and a fabricated joining letter dated September 5, 2022.
However, when Swarnkar’s daughter reached the college, she discovered there was no admission in her name and the documents were forged. Upon confronting the accused, Swarnkar was refunded Rs 85 lakh, but the remaining Rs 42 lakh was not returned. Hence, Swarnkar then approached Nerul police and registered a case.
In a similar case, Selvakumar Ganesan from Bengaluru paid Rs 50 lakh to the same gang, who falsely assured him that his nephew would get a seat in the MD Anesthesia program under the management quota. He too received fake documents in the name of DY Patil College. After realizing the fraud, Ganesan was refunded Rs 4.39 lakh, but Rs 35.61 lakh remains unpaid after which they too approached Neerul police.
Police have named six suspects in connection with the two cases as Ashish Srivastava, Lav Gupta, Rakesh Wasu, Raja, Rohan Patil, and one individual identified only as More.
“We are trying to track the accused. We suspect that the gang may have duped more families across states using similar methods. Both cases involve forged college letterheads and bogus confirmation letters. The accused had emailed the fake documents,” said a police official from Nerul.
Following these cases, Navi Mumbai Police have issued a public advisory urging parents and students not to fall prey to fraudulent admission promises.
“Always verify the authenticity of admission offers through official college websites and avoid dealing with middlemen or agents claiming direct admission without donation,” the police said, adding, “Never transfer money to individuals. Use only official admission channels.”
