Massive Fraud Unearthed by Enforcement Directorate (ED)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a massive admission scam involving private medical colleges across India. Over 18,000 MBBS and postgraduate medical seats—reserved under the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota—were fraudulently secured through forged NRI documents and fake family records.

Investigations revealed that medical colleges colluded with agents and intermediaries to produce fabricated NRI certificates and notarizations. In several cases, a single fraudulent credential was reused for multiple students to claim eligibility under the quota.

The Modus Operandi: Forgery and Collusion

The scam operated through a well-organized network that involved:

• Use of counterfeit notary stamps, fake NRI certificates, and falsified family trees that showed unrelated foreigners as sponsors.

• Submission of fake affidavits—some even with signatures dated when the sponsor was not present in India.

• Recycling documents: The same set of forged credentials was used for several applicants across different colleges.

• Fee irregularities: Instead of genuine NRI sponsors paying in foreign currency, the fees were collected directly from the students’ parents, defeating the very purpose of the NRI quota.

ED’s Crackdown: Raids and Seizures

The ED, working in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), carried out raids in West Bengal and Odisha, targeting private medical institutions and middlemen. Hundreds of forged certificates were seized and later verified with embassies—most of which turned out to be counterfeit.

Authorities also attached fixed deposits worth ₹6.42 crore from a West Bengal medical college, in addition to earlier seizures of ₹12.33 crore from linked entities.

Regulatory Response & Tightened Measures

In the wake of the revelations, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has announced stricter measures for the 2025–26 admission cycle:

• Only NRI certificates issued by Indian Missions or the MEA will be considered valid.

• All submitted documents will undergo verification by the MEA and respective Indian missions abroad.

• A new priority system has been introduced: Priority 1 for genuine NRI candidates and their children; Priority 2 for first- and second-degree relatives.

Past Incidents of Forgery

This is not the first time such cases have surfaced in medical admissions:

• In Chennai, 20 candidates were debarred for three years after submitting forged nativity, community, and NRI certificates.

• In Tamil Nadu, educational consultancies were caught colluding with candidates using fake embassy seals and forged certificates.

• In Bengaluru, a man was arrested for forging an Australian embassy letter to help a student secure an MBBS NRI seat.

Implications & Aftermath

The exposure of this scam has highlighted the deep flaws in the admission process. Genuine NRI students and deserving Indian aspirants lost opportunities due to the manipulation of reserved seats. The scam also raised questions about transparency in the functioning of private colleges.

With the ED investigation still ongoing, further arrests and legal actions are expected. Authorities are now focused on tightening verification processes to ensure that such misuse of NRI quota seats is not repeated in the future.