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Mumbai: The Sakinaka police filed an FIR on Jan 6 against nine individuals for defrauding people of Rs 45 lakh through false medical college admission promises. The suspects operated through their deceptive SEZ Academy in Sakinaka, where they provided fake assurances to parents regarding medical seats for their children. The accused absconded after shutting down their SEZ Academy office, and police are currently conducting a search.
Suryakant Gaikwad, a 67-year-old former Reserve Bank of India employee residing in Chembur, discovered the fraudulent academy on social media. “His daughter, who cleared NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) in 2024, was looking for admission to a medical college. In Nov 2024, Gaikwad spotted SEZ Academy’s Facebook advertisement, which offered MBBS seats through management quota. The establishment was situated on Andheri-Kurla Road, Sakinaka,” said a Saki Naka police officer.
Upon contacting the academy, a female staff member invited Gaikwad to visit with his cheque book, promising admission at Sangli’s Ashwini Prakash Institute at a discounted rate. In the complaint, Gaikwad stated: “On Nov 4, I met Pratiksha Angre, Aradhya Chaturvedi, and Ravindar Saket at Saki Naka office who introduced themselves as academy leaders. They requested Rs.68.50 lakhs for securing admission, stating only one seat remained available. I issued a Rs.5 lakh cheque.”
A police officer reported that Gaikwad uncovered the scam after directly contacting Ashwini Prakash Institute, which confirmed both SEZ Academy’s fraudulent status and his daughter’s exclusion from their admission list. His subsequent attempts to contact the academy were unsuccessful. “When Gaikwad later visited the academy, he found it shut down. He learnt that the accused had cheated multiple parents, collecting Rs.45 lakhs fraudulently. Subsequently, he and eight other victims registered the complaint,” the officer added.
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