10 engineers arrested for Rs 50 lakh fake college seat scam

Mumbai Police have arrested 10 people, all with engineering backgrounds, for allegedly running two bogus call centres in Pune and cheating at least 35 parents out of Rs 50 lakh by promising college admissions under management quota. The Powai police said the mastermind, 35-year-old civil engineer Sonu Kumar, and his team would gather in Pune every April to run the four-month scam. The fraudsters used burner phones and placed ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to lure victims.

One couple from Powai lost Rs 16.5 lakh after being promised their son's admission to IIIT Hyderabad. The Times of India reports the accused met the couple on the college campus to build trust. The Hindu adds that the couple, identified as Gracy Peter Gwami, 47, responded to an Instagram ad and was taken to the IIT Hyderabad campus. Police recovered the Rs 16.5 lakh after freezing the bank account.

Police raided call centres in Pune's Lohegaon and Kharadi areas on August 14, 2026. They seized 22 mobile phones, 23 SIM cards, two laptops, seven debit cards, and three cars, a BMW, a Jaguar and a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, worth Rs 1.35 crore in total. The Hindu says the main accused has been linked to six cases across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. He was remanded to police custody until August 20, 2026. Police are looking for two more suspects.