The Crime Branch has arrested the prime accused in a medical seat fraud case in which several students and parents were cheated with offers of admissions to medical colleges across the country.
The accused, Prashant Agarwal, a native of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, had been absconding for nearly five years.
The special investigation team, acting on the direction of Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, Venkatesh, was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) K. Sajeev. The accused was tracked and apprehended in Uttar Pradesh.
According to official sources, the accused operated mainly from Delhi and Noida, and placed large-scale advertisements on online and social media platforms promising medical admissions in reputed institutions across India. He allegedly lured students and parents with false claims of securing seats and collected huge sums of money.
The Crime Branch probed the case dating back to 2020, when Prashant allegedly cheated a Parassala native by promising a seat in a medical college in Mumbai. He collected ₹20 lakh, both in person and through bank transactions, and then provided a fake admission letter to convince the victim.
The case, originally registered at the Neyyattinkara police station, was later handed over to the Crime Branch for detailed investigation. Despite being on the run for years, Prashant was finally captured in Hathras by the special investigation team.
The accused, who was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court 1 in Neyyattinkara, has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
Published – November 19, 2025 09:58 pm IST
