Visakhapatnam: An absconding agent involved in a medical seats scam in Kazakhstan was taken into custody by Srikakulam police on Thursday. Police had earlier issued a lookout notice for him following a complaint lodged by the victims about 10 months ago.
The agent, identified as Gangadhar Harish from Karimnagar in Telangana, was on the run since the filing of the complaint.
Harish was detained by immigration officials at New Delhi airport while trying to flee the country and shifted to Tihar jail. As there was already a lookout notice for him, they informed Srikakulam police who went to the national capital, and after completing the formalities, brought him to Srikakulam.
The accused is said to have collected nearly Rs 2 crore from students in Srikakulam alone. Police said he also duped scores of students in Vizianagaram, Hyderabad, Medak, Karimnagar, and other places by promising them medical seats in Kazakhstan. Many cases were lodged against him at various places, including at Khairatabad police station in Hyderabad.
Some of his victims from Srikakulam lodged a complaint with district SP K Maheswar Reddy after they returned to India from Kazakhstan, alleging deception by Harish. “He opened an office, GGN International, near the polytechnic college in Srikakulam, collected the entire course fees from seven students in Srikakulam, but only paid the first year fees to the college. The students were removed from the college and told to return home when they could not pay the fees for the subsequent years,” Maheswar Reddy said.
Police said they have information that Harish duped many students in various cities and towns in both Telugu states. “We have seven victims in Srikakulam, from whom he collected nearly Rs 2 crore. He used to attract students by offering them medical seats in Kazakhstan at low cost. As a payment medical seat in AP and other states costs around Rs 1 crore, many parents got lured by the offer. He collected amounts ranging between Rs 28 lakh and Rs 48 lakh as per the complaint lodged by the students, including fees for six years and hostel. But he paid only the first year fee to the college,” Srikakulam DSP Ch Vivekananda said.
After being removed from the college, the students informed Kazakhstan police and the Indian embassy in that country before lodging a complaint in Srikakulam after returning. Some students and parents also confronted Harish, but were attacked by him and his securitymen.
The students from Srikakulam were enrolled at Astana Medical University in Nur Sultan city, which is ranked 14th in Kazakhstan and is the most preferred choice of Indian students for studying MBBS in Kazakhstan due to its low fees. Astana is a govt medical university and offers a general medicine course equivalent to an MBBS degree in India.