MBBS admission fraud in Odisha: ED seeks conviction of accused persons, confiscation of Rs 46 lakh assets

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint against accused Raghunath Behera, his brother Bharat Behera & others in the Special PMLA Court, Bhubaneswar in connection with the duping of aspiring students with the promise of giving them MBBS seats under management quota.

The complaint has been lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on 4/8/2023. In its complaint, the directorate has requested the Court for conviction of the accused and confiscation of the confirmed attached properties worth Rs 46 lakh. 

The Special Court took cognizance of the Prosecution Complaint on August 9, 2023.

Notably, the accused persons had blocked management seats in different colleges in the State. Subsequently, they duped aspiring students by taking money from them with the promise of proving them MBBS seats under the management quota.

The ED had initiated an investigation under PMLA on the basis of FIR and charge sheet filed by CID, Crime Branch Odisha under various sections of IPC against Raghunath Behera, Soumyakanta Mohanty and others in connection with duping a number of gullible students of Odisha and beyond with a false promise to provide MBBS seats in different Medical colleges. 

There were various other FIRs registered and chargesheets filed by different police stations in Odisha against accused persons and their accomplices in similar matters, the ED said.  

Earlier, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 46 lakh by issuing a Provisional Attachment Order dated 09/12/2022 which was subsequently confirmed by the Ld. Adjudicating Authority (PMLA) on 01/06/2023.