Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested the former treasurer of an educational society based in Satara, Maharashtra, in connection with an alleged scam amounting to Rs 29 crore during his four-year tenure with the society.
According to ED officials, the accused has been identified as Appasaheb Deshmukh, who served as the treasurer of the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society between 2011 and 2016.
A complaint was first registered in this regard on November 30, 2016 with the Vaduj police station in Satara, in which it was alleged that the management of the Society had collected money in cash from students in exchange for securing admission to the MBBS stream in one of its colleges; the Institute of Medical Science and Research, Mayani. It was, however, found that the college was not even eligible for an MBBS course.
The ED subsequently initiated its own investigations into the matter under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on October 20, 2021.
“During the investigation, it was found that Deshmukh collected around Rs 29 crore from more than 350 students but no admission was granted to them. This was done in connivance with his brother Mahadev, the then president of the Society, who is already under arrest, and some others. We also found that the money was deliberately collected in cash and deposited in Deshmukh's account as well as some accounts belonging to his family members,” an ED officer said.
Deshmukh was subsequently called for questioning and later placed under arrest on Friday. He was produced before a PMLA court and remanded in the ED's custody till June 24.
Mahadev was arrested by the ED in the same case on May 6 this year, and is currently in judicial custody, officials said.
