LUCKNOW: A senior doctor teamed up with two techies to create a databank of unsuccessful medical aspirants by hacking into NEET candidates list, then ensnaring the gullible with promise of admissions for kickbacks and then resorting to blackmail to stall demands for refund. The gang conned at least 26 lakh candidates of more than Rs 15 crore till the special task force (STF) blew the lid off the scam on Saturday.
Kingpin Dr Abhijat Mishra and his two techie aides — Saurabh Gupta and Vikas Soni — were arrested from Vijayant Khand locality in Gomti Nagar. Dr Mishra was as an adviser in TS Mishra Medical College, Lucknow, till 2019, before joining Mathura Medical College as director (admission) and took hefty bribes for admissions to MBBS and MD/MS courses. The accused also ran a private firm, Rise Group Pvt Ltd, which served as a front for illegally sourcing data of candidates who took NEET exam.
SSP, STF, Anil Singh Sisodiya, said, the scam was busted while probing into a complaint of a Patna resident, who was duped of Rs 6lakh by the techie, Saurabh Gupta, after promising admission into a medical college in Vibhuti Khand. Gupta, who would do a moonlight flit after collecting huge bribes from gullible candidates, finally set up office in Vijayant Khand, Gomtinagar, and the racket was unearthed after raids at the office by STF.
“Dr Mishra and his aides would create a databank of candidates who appeared in NEET, but could not clear the test. His aides would then call these candidates to their office and make them sign on loan agreement papers, while secretly filming them in the act. Then they would arrange meetings with top officials of medical colleges in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The kingpin would charge Rs 5-6 lakh from each medical aspirant with a promise to facilitate admissions,” said Sisodiya.
When candidates would demand refund after failing to secure admission, they would be intimidated and blackmailed. The gang members would tell them they had given bribes and would go to prison as they had video evidence, the SSP said.
An engineering graduate, Saurabh worked as the regional director at an engineering college in Jharkhand before shifting to Lucknow, where he launched his own company. His accomplice, Vikas Soni, was a diploma holder in engineering.
An SUV, three laptops, 30 mobile phones, 25 registers with details of money transactions and documents related to admission in the MBBS/MD courses were seized during the raid. The scam network was spread across Delhi, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.