Four dupe Mumbai resident of Rs 81 lakh by promising medical seat for his son; 1 accused arrested from Aurangabad

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The Borivali police have arrested a man who along with his three associates allegedly duped Rs 81 lakh from a medical professional on the pretext of securing admission for his son in a medical college for an (Doctor of Medicine) MD course.

According to police sources, the arrested accused has been identified as Anil Ramchandra Tambat. His three associates: Sandeep Waghmare, Abhijit Patil, and Bhushan Patil are on the run. The 54-year-old complainant has alleged that the accused threatened to kidnap and kill his son if he approached the police.

The complainant, a Kandivali resident, owns a medical and surgical supplies business. His son had completed a degree in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 2019 with a score of 199. After struggling to secure admission for an MD course, the complainant met Waghmare, who allegedly falsely promised to arrange for his son's admission to a reputed college in Aurangabad through the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota. Waghmare introduced the complainant to Patil and Tambat, the police said.

The accused convinced the complainant that his son could secure a seat through the government quota. The complainant's son was re-registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam. Soon after, he received a fake message, supposedly from the college, claiming that a seat had been allocated to his son. Believing the message to be legitimate, the complainant proceeded with the formalities, paying a total of Rs 2.61 crore to the accused: Rs 94 lakh to Tambat, Rs 8.5 lakh to Patil, Rs 23 lakh to Waghmare, and Rs 1.36 crore to Patil.

The accused provided the complainant with fake college admission documents and an identity card under the dean's name, but it was later discovered that these were fraudulent. The complainant also discovered that another acquaintance had been similarly defrauded by the same gang. After realising the scam, the complainant demanded a refund from the accused. They returned Rs 55 lakh but withheld Rs 81 lakh, said an officer from Borivali police station.

The accused also issued threats, warning the complainant not to approach the police, or else would abduct and harm his son. The Kandivali resident, however, filed a complaint with Borivali police, who launched an investigation into the case.

"We registered a case against the four accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and began a manhunt. After 10 months of evading from the police, Tambat was arrested in Aurangabad yesterday. He was produced before the court on Sunday. The court remanded him two days of custody. The search for the other three accused is on," said another officer.