The Sakkardara police have registered a case against four individuals, including the operator of PeopleLink Placement Pvt. Ltd., for allegedly duping a 21-year-old student of ₹28.60 lakh under the pretext of securing admission to an MBBS course through a fake collaboration with a U.S.-based university.
The complaint was lodged by Samaddhi Raju Parate (21), a resident of Savner, Nagpur, who aspired to study medicine. In September 2022, she came across a newspaper advertisement issued by PeopleLink Placement Pvt. Ltd., Reshimbagh, Nagpur, and subsequently met its operator Atul Ramesh Ingole. Ingole allegedly assured her of MBBS admission through RJS College, Kopargaon (Ahmednagar), claiming the institute was affiliated with Columbus Central University, USA.
Ingole further introduced Venkata Reddy (Hyderabad) as the university’s director and Umang Patel (Ahmedabad) as its CEO. Convincing the student of their authenticity, the accused collected ₹28.60 lakh from her through cash and online transactions for registration, tuition, hostel, and other expenses.
To make the offer appear genuine, the accused provided forged admission receipts, mark sheets, student ID, and projection letters via email to help her apply for an education loan. However, when Parate enquired about her U.S. travel and college admission, the accused began delaying responses. Sheetal (Sakkardara, Nagpur) later told her she would be sent in the next batch.
Realizing the fraud, the victim demanded a refund. The accused returned only ₹3 lakh to her father’s account, while keeping ₹25.60 lakh. Verification later revealed that all documents and email IDs were fabricated in the name of Columbus Central University to deceive the student.
Following her complaint, PSI Dahilkar of Sakkardara police station registered an offence under relevant sections of the BNS for cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. Police said further investigation is underway to trace the accused.
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