MUMBAI: Enforcement Directorate alleged that Mahadev Deshmukh, a former president of a Satara medical college in collusion with other accused, cheated "350 gullible students" and collected "Rs65.7 core". ED made the allegations in its chargesheet in a money laundering case linked to MBBS admission fraud.
ED said this was done in the guise of offering admissions for MBBS in Institute of Medical Science and Research (IMSR) run by Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society, Satara, despite knowing that it did not have permission from the Medical Counsel of India and Maharastra University of Health Science for taking admissions in MBBS. "However, neither admission was given to those students nor amount was refunded," ED said.
Also part of the chargesheet are statements of parents of two students who paid Rs15-45 lakh. The chargesheet listed 15 parents and details of payments.
One parent said she had paid Rs45 lakh in cash for the admission of her daughter in the Institute of Medical Science and Research in 2016. She said she was never given an acknowledgment. She said that neither admission was given nor was the money returned. The mother said that her attempts to file a complaint with Pune police failed in 2019. An FIR was finally registered earlier this year.
Also part of the chargesheet is a statement of a man, whose father was in the angadia business, which said that on Deshmukh's instructions his father and he made and received hawala payments on behalf of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society to the tune of Rs Rs15-20 crore and around Rs3-4lakh was received by him as commission. He said he used to destroy documents related to hawala payments.
ED in its chargesheet said to hide the source of funds collected from students, and project it as untainted, the money was collected in cash and deposited into bank accounts of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society and its colleges. It was allegedly projected as hospital income of the society.
"The fund was siphoned off in cash, transferred to the bank account of Mahadev Deshmukh, working president, Mohd Siddiqui, joint secretary, and others in the guise of processing fees, salary, purchase of medical equipment and contractor payments. Funds were withdrawn in cash by issuing cheques in the name of other accused. The amount siphoned in the name of the accused was utilized for purchase of movable and immovable properties and personal use," ED said.
