Shahibaug Psychiatrist Duped Of ₹15.50 Lakh In BITS Hyderabad Admission Scam
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Shahibaug-based psychiatrist has allegedly lost ₹15.50 lakh to a group of fraudsters who promised to secure an engineering seat for his daughter at BITS Hyderabad despite her low BITSAT score, police said.
The 47-year-old doctor, identified as Dr Gopal Bhatia, was allegedly approached by a group claiming they could arrange admission through a vacant foreign student quota seat. The suspects later allegedly posed as members of the BITS admission committee and met the doctor and his wife at a hotel in Hyderabad. Madhavpura police have registered a complaint and are probing the alleged fraud.
Admission Offer After Low BITSAT Score
Bhatia runs Ahmedabad Psychiatric Clinic near Vitthalnagar Char Rasta in Shahibaug. His 18-year-old daughter, Mitra, completed Class 12 in June but could not secure admission after obtaining a low score in the BITSAT examination.
According to the complaint, the alleged fraud began on June 9, when Niharika Sharma and Prateek Gupta contacted Bhatia through an unidentified WhatsApp number. They reportedly claimed that a seat was available under the foreign student quota at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Hyderabad and offered to arrange admission for ₹16 lakh.
The suspects allegedly first sought ₹50,000 as a booking amount. The money was transferred to an SBI account held in the name of Vishal Kumar at the bank’s Lucknow High Court branch.
To reinforce the admission offer, the doctor was allegedly asked to send a post-dated ₹16 lakh security cheque in favour of Pune-based Axis Education through courier.
Doctor And Wife Travel To Hyderabad
The alleged middlemen subsequently asked Bhatia and his wife to come to Hyderabad. On July 13, the couple reached the Sheraton Hotel, where they allegedly met two men identified as Vivaan and Virendra.
The two men reportedly claimed to be part of the BITS admission committee. They allegedly collected a demand draft worth ₹4.17 lakh in favour of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, along with Mitra’s educational documents.
The suspects later allegedly told Bhatia that another ₹15 lakh had to be paid for the management quota.
₹15 Lakh Deposited Through Angadia Firm
After the doctor returned to Ahmedabad, the alleged fraudsters reportedly sent him the serial number of a ₹10 note over WhatsApp.
They allegedly instructed him to obtain a torn note with the same serial number from PM Enterprise, an angadia firm in Shahibaug, and hand over ₹15 lakh there.
Bhatia allegedly followed the instructions and deposited the money. However, the promised admission failed to materialise.
When he subsequently tried contacting the people involved, their phones were allegedly switched off.
The ₹4.17 lakh demand draft was eventually returned by courier from Pune on August 13. The ₹15.50 lakh paid by the doctor, however, was not refunded, prompting him to approach Madhavpura police.
Police have registered a case and are investigating the alleged admission racket, including the identities of the people involved and the flow of the money.
