ED arrests treasurer of Maharashtra-based educational society in money laundering case

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has arrested a former treasurer of a Maharashtra-based educational society under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged duping of medical aspirants in lieu of grant of admission to them in a college which was not eligible for the MBBS course.

The agency in a statement said that Appasaheb Ramachandra Deshmukh of Kolhapur-based Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society (SCSES) was taken into custody on Friday and he has been sent to ED custody till June 24 by a special court.

His brother and former president of the charitable educational society, Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh, was arrested by the agency in the case in May. He is in judicial custody at present.

The Enforcement Directorate said that Appasaheb Ramachandra Deshmukh was the treasurer of the educational society between 2011-2016.

He, in connivance with his brother, and others "fraudulently" collected about Rs 29 crore from more than 350 students in guise of admission in MBBS but no admission was given to the said students.

Probe found that in order to "hide" the source of the funds and to project it as untainted, funds were collected in cash and deposited into the bank account of Appasaheb Ramchandra Deshmukh and his family members, the agency alleged.

The money laundering case stems from a Satara (Vaduj police station) district police FIR against Mahadev R Deshmukh and others where it was alleged that the management of the society "collected funds in cash from the students for admission in MBBS course into a college named Institute of Medical Science and Research, Mayani (a college of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society) whereas, the college was not eligible for the same."

"The society trust received permission to run a medical college for the academic year 2012-13 and 2013-14 for 100 seats per annum (85 seats government quota and 15 seats management quota)," ED said in a statement.

However, the agency had said, the admission regulatory authority in 2014 rejected the permission for admission in MBBS for the academic year 2014-15.

(With inputs from PTI)