Woman cheated of Rs 3 lakhs in lure of medical admission for her daughter

Pune: A man has been booked by the Swargate police for cheating a Bibwevadi resident of Rs 3 lakh on the pretext of helping the complainant’s daughter get an admission to a medical course.

The 48-year-old complainant, a homemaker, paid the suspect in cash as well as through online transfers in July last year. When her daughter failed to secure admission the suspect gave the woman a cheque of Rs2.25 lakh in October last year subsequently the cheque bounced raising suspicions in the mind of the complainant who them registered an FIR with the Warje Malwadi police.

According to Sub-inspector, S A Patil, Warje Malwadi station, the cheated woman came in touch with the accused through a girl living in the neighbourhood, and working in a travel company at Jedhe chowk in Swargate. The suspect was a regular customer of the travel agency

The officer added that the FIR stated that the neighbour knew the customer had ensured admissions to different colleges in the city for many students. “She introduced him to the complainant as the latter wanted admission for her daughter to an MBBS course,” Patil added.

The FIR states that the accused had assured admission into a medical college despite the girl having marks lower than the minimum required. Patil said that the suspect sought Rs 15 lakh to ensure admission. “He took Rs 1 lakh in cash, then took another Rs2 lakh through online transfers in July last year,” Patil told TOI.

Since the daughter had scored poorly, she did not get admission for an MBBS course. However, the lady did manage to get admission for her daughter into a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery course at some other college for her daughter. “When the woman started pursuing the suspect for her money, he gave her a post-dated cheque of Rs2.25 lakh in October last year,” Patil said.

The officer said that when the cheque bounced, the woman reached the police station to lodge the complaint. “We have registered an offence under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code,” Patil told TOI.