Cash for seat scam in medical colleges: I-T raids in Bengaluru, Mangaluru detect Rs 400 crore black money

News Network
February 19, 2021

Bengaluru, Feb 19: The Income Tax Department has detected an alleged cash-for-seat scam running in some Karnataka-based medical colleges, as the CBDT said over Rs 400 crore black money has been generated in the name of capitation fee by these institutions.

A statement issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes said these alleged irregularities were found after nine major trusts, registered in Bengaluru and Mangaluru, running educational institutes, including medical colleges were raided on Wednesday.

”Searches were conducted at 56 different locations across Karnataka and Kerala,” the CBDT, which frames policy for the tax department, said.

”So far, the evidence gathered indicates that Rs 402.78 crore has been accepted as illegal capitation fee by manipulating the online admission process and the same has not been disclosed to the Income Tax Department,” it said.

It said cash amount of Rs 15.09 crore has been seized and gold jewellery worth Rs 30 crore (weighing 81 kilograms), 50-carat diamonds and 40 kilograms of silver articles have been found from the residential premises of the trustees and are prima facie, unexplained.

”Evidence of undisclosed foreign assets of Rs 2.39 crore in Ghana has also been found apart from evidence of huge investments in 35 luxury cars in Benami names,” the CBDT said.

Describing the alleged modus operandi, the CBDT said it was found that the transparent selection process to medical colleges through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been ”subverted” by trustees and key persons running these institutions in collusion with agents/brokers and some students who got high ranks in the NEET examination.

”The first stage of malpractice is that some high-ranking students in the NEET examination take admission to MBBS courses through State counselling (who have no intention to join the said colleges as they have secured admissions or likely to get admission elsewhere).

”Thereby blocking seats in the medical stream in a medical college during the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) counselling process, in connivance with agents, middlemen, converters (who provide service of converting the regular seats to management seats),” it said.

The CBDT said, later, these students withdraw from the admission process, thereby making the vacant seats available for the college management. Such seats are made available to the college management for filling up through the ”stray vacancies round” (seats remaining vacant or unfilled in a college after a mop-up round), it claimed.

In this round, the statement claimed, the seats are filled by the college management by admitting less meritorious candidates (low rank in NEET) after collecting huge sums as capitation fee, donations in cash which are illegal under the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1984.

”The capitation fee/donations are collected through a network of brokers/agents employed by the key persons/trustees of these medical colleges,” it claimed.

The CBDT said that ”the search operation resulted in detecting incriminating evidence regarding cash-for-seat malpractices for admission to MBBS, BDS and PG seats in the form of notebooks, handwritten diaries, excel sheets containing the details of cash received from students/brokers for admission in these colleges for various years.”

”It was also observed that the management, faculty, staff, meritorious students and brokers are working in close nexus to manipulate the online admission process,” the CBDT said.

It added that there is evidence indicating that one of the medical colleges have some sort of ‘package arrangement’ for passing management quota students in written examination and viva voce for a fixed sum ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

”There is evidence which prima facie suggests that the cash money accepted by manipulating the online admission process in these colleges has been diverted for non-charitable purpose by the trustees, which is clearly in violation of Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Apart from this, evidence has been found regarding a large number of investments made in immovable properties with huge cash component attracting provisions of Section 69 (unexplained deposits) of the Income Tax Act, 1961,” the CBDT alleged.

It added that one of the colleges has diversified into the business of timber/plywood industries where evidence regarding under-invoicing has also been found.

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News Network
January 15,2025

The US consulate in Bengaluru will hold its ‘site-dedication ceremony’ on January 17, with officials confirming that the location of the upcoming consulate will be disclosed during the event. Sources indicate that the site could be in either the Central Business District or Whitefield.

While the consulate building is under development, visa services may temporarily begin at the JW Marriott hotel, which currently houses the United States Commercial Service (USCS) office.

Bengaluru has long advocated for the establishment of a US consulate, and with its opening, residents of the city and Karnataka will no longer need to travel to other states for their US visa applications.

It was in January of the previous year that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during his visit to Bengaluru, expressed his intention to urge the US Ambassador to India to establish a consulate in the city. This move follows the announcement during Prime Minister Modi’s June 2023 visit to the US, where it was revealed that two new US consulates would open in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and India would set up a mission in Seattle.

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News Network
January 10,2025

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Barakah International School and College is organizing a unique parenting workshop aimed at equipping parents with essential skills in various aspects of parenting. The event will take place at Barakah Auditorium, Ayar, on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 6:30 PM.

This session will cover three crucial aspects of parenting:

Motivating Your Child to Excel in Academics: Presented by Sharfuddin B.S., Principal of Barakah International School and College and an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker.

Parenting in the Modern Age: Delivered by Mr. Saif Sultan, a renowned motivational speaker and Chairman of the Hope Foundation.

Parenting Skills to Instill Islamic Values: Led by Mohammad Haneef, Principal of the Islamic Department at Barakah International School and a well-known Khateeb.

The workshop will conclude with a Q&A session, providing participants the opportunity to gain deeper insights from the experts.

The program is free of cost and open to both parents, subject to prior registration. Maghrib and Isha prayer arrangements will be available, and refreshments will be served at the end.

Interested participants are encouraged to register at the earliest to secure their slots via the following Google Form:

https://forms.gle/mKxsr4A1UGrpo7DJ9

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News Network
January 17,2025

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Mangaluru: In a brazen daylight robbery, a group of five to six armed individuals stormed into the Kotekar Vyavasaya Sahakara Seva Sangha branch at KC Road, Ullal taluk, and escaped with valuables estimated at ₹10-12 crore.

The incident occurred between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm, according to Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal. The masked robbers, aged between 25-35, were armed with a pistol, talwar, and knife. They threatened the four to five employees present, forcing them to open the vault containing jewellery and other valuables.

The suspects spoke in Hindi and Kannada and fled the scene in a black Fiat car. Commissioner Agrawal confirmed that multiple police teams have been formed, and efforts are underway to track the culprits using technical surveillance and other leads.

CM Siddaramaiah Holds Emergency Meeting

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a high-level meeting with senior police officials, including IGP Amit Singh, Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, SP Yathish N, and DySP, following the robbery.

Expressing dissatisfaction over security lapses, Siddaramaiah questioned, "How did this happen despite officials being present? Why were toll gates not secured?"

Officials reported that the bank had no security personnel and only five to six staff members on duty during the heist. The Chief Minister has directed authorities to enhance security across four districts, intensify checks at toll gates, and arrest the accused swiftly to ensure stringent legal action.

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