Pune, 16 December 2025: Two men have been booked by Baner Police for allegedly cheating 13 people of ₹1.26 crore by falsely promising MBBS admissions in a medical college in Jalgaon. The accused, identified as Rajesh Gupta and Brijesh Arya, reportedly ran the scam by advertising guaranteed medical seats through social media.
The complaint was filed by Pravin Kishor Halkare (52), a resident of Chandrapur, who runs a CCTV sales and services business. According to police, Halkare came across a Facebook advertisement on November 1 last year claiming assured MBBS admissions. As his daughter aspired to study medicine, he contacted the number mentioned in the ad.
Gupta allegedly called Halkare to an office at Tejas Eternity, Balewadi Phata, Baner, where he and his associate Arya claimed they could secure an MBBS seat at Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College in Jalgaon. They demanded ₹35 lakh as “donation” and initially collected ₹3 lakh, assuring that the remaining amount could be paid in instalments. A written agreement was also given to the complainant.
Later, the accused allegedly took Halkare to Jalgaon, collected another ₹7 lakh, and produced a fake admission form of the medical college. They obtained the student’s signature and photograph to make the process appear genuine. However, when no admission materialised, Halkare realised he had been cheated and approached the police.
Police investigations revealed that the accused had similarly duped 12 other victims using the same method. Assistant Police Inspector Anil Kekan said the accused had set up their office only three months ago and shut it down on December 6. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway to trace the money and identify more victims.
Police have warned parents to be cautious of social media advertisements promising guaranteed admissions, calling it a growing trend of education-related fraud.