2 clerks among 3 held for running admission racket in colleges of private university in Mumbai

Mumbai, The Mumbai police have arrested three persons, including two clerks of K J Somaiya College here for allegedly running a cash-for-admission racket across the colleges of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, officials said. The accused allegedly forged marksheets and leaving certificates to provide admission to students at three colleges of the university in Vidyavihar area of the metropolis, they said. “A case was registered against five persons, including two staffers of the university, who secured admissions of at least 50 students for Class 11 during the academic year 2024-25 by creating forged documents,” an official said. Those 50 students were ineligible for the admission, he said. The incident took place at K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, Vidyavihar, Shree S K Somaiyya Vinay Mandir Secondary School and Junior College and K J Somaiyya College of Science and Commerce, he said. The accused clerks of the Somaiya college, Mahendra Patil and Arjun Rathod along with their three associates Kamleshbhai, Jitubhai and Babubhai created forged documents of the students, including their CBSE, ICSE, IB, IGCSE marksheets to obtain admissions of the ineligible students and collected money from their parents, he said. Though the admission process was online, the accused persons generated login ids and passwords of the students and secured their admissions, he said. “The accused persons not only cheated the college, school education department but also other schools by creating fabricated documents and marksheets by hatching a conspiracy,” he said. As the admission racket came to light, the principal of the K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce approached Tilak Nagar police station and filed a complaint against five accused persons, including two staffers, he said. Based on the complaint, a case under relevant sections of BNS and IT Act was registered, he said. During the investigation, the role of the clerks – Patil and Rathod – came to surface, following which they were placed under arrest, he said adding one more accused was arrested in connection with the case. The probe in the case is underway, he said.