Pune Crime Files | PhD holder ‘consultant’ who preyed on dreams of NEET aspirants

“Our probe suggests that Arogonda holds a PhD and has in the past worked in some college in Telangana. He had projected himself as an education expert and mentor, and used social media to offer counselling services to medical aspirants. He also advertised a phone-based application named the ‘college predictor’,” a Pune police officer, who is part of the investigation, said.

In the case registered in Pune, two families were allegedly cheated of Rs 8.12 lakh on the promise of securing admission to an MBBS course for their children in a reputed medical college. During the investigation, the police discovered that the accused was allegedly involved in multiple similar cases in Mumbai and Hyderabad. According to officers attached to the Yerwada police station in Pune, at least six criminal cases had already been registered against the accused before he was brought to Pune from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Prison on a transfer warrant issued by a court.

The alleged operation revolved around a company that had offices in Hyderabad and branches in cities including Pune and Mumbai. The police said the company aggressively advertised on phone messenger and social media websites, targeting students and parents searching for admission guidance after NEET results.

The sophisticated bait

Students who responded to the advertisements were encouraged to use a ‘college predictor’ application promoted by the company. By entering their category and marks, aspirants were allegedly shown predictions about the colleges they could secure. Investigators said this helped build trust and gave families the impression that the consultancy possessed exclusive admission expertise and access to medical colleges.

“Once confidence was established, the consultancy offered to facilitate admissions. Families were told that admissions to government colleges could be secured for a fee of around Rs 5 lakh, while admissions to private colleges would require counselling charges of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. Victims were allegedly assured that their money would be refunded if admission was not obtained. Agreements and assurances were used to convince parents that the process was genuine,” said the Pune police officer.

Promises end in deception

“The accused and his associates collected money from students and parents and later issued forged college admission documents and allotment letters. Families were instructed to report to colleges on specific dates, only to find out that no admission had actually been granted. By the time the families realised that they had been cheated, valuable academic time had been lost, and many students had missed opportunities elsewhere,” another officer said.

The Pune police stated that the fraud extended far beyond a single complainant. Their investigation indicated that around 40 students were allegedly duped through false promises of MBBS admissions and fake admission confirmations. “We have reasons to suspect that the number of victims could be much higher, with similar complaints surfacing in Maharashtra, Telangana, and other states against Arogonda and his accomplices,” the officer added.

“These suspects transformed NEET scores, social media advertisements, and a fake college predictor app into tools for selling dreams that never existed,” the officer said, adding that they are now making efforts to arrest or seek custody of other accused linked to the scam.