Mumbai: The Tilak Nagar police have arrested three persons, including two clerks and a middleman, for orchestrating a fake admission scam across three institutions under Somaiya Vidyavihar University. The accused generated forged documents, including mark sheets, school leaving certificates, and fake email IDs, to secure admissions for approximately 50 students into Class 11.
The scam came to light during an internal verification process initiated by Dr Kishan Pawar, Principal of KJ Somaiya Arts and Commerce College, who filed a complaint with the police.
The arrested persons are Mahesh Vishnu Patil, 49, a clerk at SK Somaiya School and Junior College; Arjun Vasaram Rathod, 43, a clerk at KJ Somaiya Arts and Commerce College; and Devendra Suryakant Saide, 55, who acted as a middleman. Additionally, three other suspects Kamlesh Bhai, Jitu Bhai, and Babu Bhai are wanted in connection with the case.
The investigation revealed that the accused exploited a loophole in the online admission system. While SSC board data was preloaded, students from CBSE, IB, ICSE, and IGCSE boards required manual entry of marks and documents.
The accused created fake mark sheets and school leaving certificates to manipulate the process. Parents, misled about ‘management quota’ admissions for the 2024-25 academic year, paid amounts ranging between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs2 lakh per student.
The college administration, which conducted internal checks, played a key role in uncovering the scam. Police are also probing whether similar frauds occurred in previous years. Investigators are working to track the full scale of the operation and identify additional beneficiaries.
The accused accepted illegal cash payments from parents of ineligible students. They tampered with the official online portal https://mumbai.11thadmission.org.in, uploading fake documents to secure seats. The fake mark sheets showcased manipulated percentages, such as 376-(75.2%) and 449-(89.8%), to falsely qualify students.
