Farmer who took money promising seats at top colleges, nabbed from Sangli

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After a yearlong hunt, the Bhandup police have arrested a farmer from Sangli who used to dupe people on the pretext of getting admission to top colleges. According to the police, the accused claimed that he knew politicians from the area and could get any work done easily.

He was finally arrested on Friday for cheating an MBBS aspirant of R14 lakh to get her admitted to a coveted medical college. Believing his claims, a few people had given him large sums of money for admissions. It was only when one Mumbai couple failed to get their daughter into a desired college and demanded their money back, which he refused, that the police heard about him.

The farmer has been identified as Jayant Popat Pawar (32) a resident of Sangli. The parents of the student registered an FIR at Bhandup Police Station on July 2016. When the police went to Pawar's village, he had absconded. He returned two days ago, and the Bhandup police immediately arrested him.

Pawar used to call people to the Mantralaya to visit him. There, he would pretend to be very busy and would be seen hobnobbing with politicians. Impressed, families would believe his lies and give him money to get their wards admission to desired colleges.

"According to the complaint filed by Anthony Nadar, a resident of Bhandup, Pawar claimed to have contacts in the government, and promised to get his daughter a seat in one of the top medical colleges in Pune. We have registered a case against him under Sections 420, 406 of the IPC," said S B Kale, from Bhandup Police Station.

The police are investigating to find out who else was working with him and how many others Pawar has cheated.