Cops unearth MBBS seat scam, one held

Kingpin of the gang Ashok Shah was arrested in Bihar

THE CYBERCRIME police warned the public not to believe those who offered medical seats and requested them not to transfer money.

The cybercrime police of Hyderabad unearthed an MBBS seat scam being operated from Bihar and Koramangala, Bengaluru, following the arrest of a 30-year-old man from Bihar. The accused, identified as Ashok Shah, was arrested following a complaint from a victim who paid him `10.16 lakh for an MBBS seat in KIMS, Bangalore.

The accused was arrested in Bihar and was brought to Hyderabad on a transit warrant. The gang which is behind the scam had even set up an office at Koramangala, where a few of the local victims went to pay in cash, officials from the cybercrimes revealed, adding that the Koramangala police had also booked some cases against the accused.

On 21 April, 2022, a complaint was received from Y. Vennela, who had completed her intermediate and appeared for NEET. “While she was waiting for counselling, she received an SMS offering her a medical seat at KIMS, Bangalore.

Believing them, she paid a total of `10,16,000. However, after receiving the amount, the accused switched off their mobile phones,” said ACP of Hyderabad cybercrimes, K.V.M. Prasad.

It was revealed during the investigation that they had set up an office in Bengaluru and collected information about the students who were waiting for NEET counselling.

“Later, the accused contacted the students and made them believe that they could get them medical seat allotment as they had influence. For which, the accused asked the students to pay fees. If the students expressed any doubt, the accused called them to an office they had set up temporarily at Koramangala, Bengaluru, to make them believe that they were genuine. After that, the accused made the students transfer the fees to their bank accounts. Once the amount was transferred, the accused switched off their mobile phones and absconded,” explained the official.

The cybercrime police warned the public not to believe those who offered medical seats and requested them not to transfer money. “Medical seats would be allotted only through counselling and not through shortcuts,” concluded the official