Mumbai: Three Arrested in Somaiya College Fake Admission Scam

Three individuals, including two employees, have been arrested by the Tilak Nagar Police for creating fake mark sheets to facilitate admissions in Class 11 across three colleges under Somaiya Vidyavihar University. The accused reportedly accepted money from parents and generated forged mark sheets, school leaving certificates, and email IDs to help around 50 students secure admissions. The scam was uncovered after the principal of Somaiya College initiated an internal verification process and filed a complaint with the police.

Dr. Kishan Pawar, Principal of K.J. Somaiya Arts and Commerce College, lodged the complaint. The investigation revealed irregularities in K.J. Somaiya Science and Commerce College, S.K. Somaiya Vinay Mandir Secondary School and Junior College, and K.J. Somaiya Arts and Commerce College. The arrested individuals have been identified as Mahesh Vishnu Patil (49), Arjun Vasaram Rathod (43), and Devendra Suryakant Saide (55). Among them, Patil worked as a clerk at S.K. Somaiya School and Junior College, while Rathod was employed as a clerk at K.J. Somaiya Arts and Commerce College. Saide is reported to have acted as a middleman.

The college administration detected the fraudulent admissions during a verification process and promptly reported it to the police. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Circle-6) Navnath Dhawale stated, “Following the complaint, we registered an FIR on Monday and arrested three individuals. The accused are in four-day police custody, and further investigations are underway.”

Additionally, three more suspects—identified as Kamlesh Bhai, Jitu Bhai, and Babu Bhai—have been named in the case. It is suspected that the accused forged documents to help students appear eligible for admission. According to the college administration, they independently uncovered the fraud, conducted internal checks, and approached the police.

The scam allegedly benefited around 50 students, primarily from CBSE, IB, ICSE, and IGCSE boards. Since the admission process was conducted online, the SSC board’s data was preloaded into the system, but students from other boards required manual entry of marks and school details. The accused exploited this loophole by creating fake documents, including forged mark sheets and school leaving certificates, and used them to fill in false information. They then collected significant sums of money from parents in return for securing admissions.

The fraud came to light in June when Principal Pawar noticed discrepancies in admission lists. Contacting the parents of students with suspicious entries revealed the scheme. Police investigations have found that the accused demanded between ₹1.5 to ₹2 lakh per admission.

The police are also investigating whether similar frauds were carried out in previous academic years. The accused claimed to offer admissions under the management quota for the 2024-25 academic year, misleading parents and collecting hefty sums. Further inquiries are ongoing.