Times News NetworkPanchkula: The economic offences wing (EOW) of Panchkula police busted an education fraud racket with the arrest of the main accused. Manav Singla was arrested for allegedly duping a doctor of Rs 37 lakh on the pretext of securing an MBBS seat under the management quota.Police said the accused had been evading arrest for a long time. Both the district court and the high court had rejected his anticipatory bail pleas. He was finally arrested on April 24 and produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody.The case was registered on Dec 22, 2025, at Sector 7 police station on the complaint of a Faridkot-based doctor, who alleged that his daughter appeared in the NEET-2024 exam but could not secure a govt seat. During their search for admission under the private quota, they came in contact with the accused, who operated from an office in Zirakpur.Police said the accused initially promised admission to a Bathinda-based medical institute and later to medical colleges in Haryana, collecting Rs 37 lakh. When the admission did not materialise, he returned only Rs 6.2 lakh and allegedly refused to refund the remaining Rs 30.8 lakh.Investigations, including scrutiny of bank records and digital evidence, revealed that the fraud was carried out as part of a larger conspiracy involving two more accused, who are currently at large. Their anticipatory bail applications are pending in court.Police said the accused falsely claimed high-level connections in govt departments to gain the victim’s trust. They urged people to rely only on official counselling processes and government portals for admissions and avoid middlemen demanding hefty sums for “management quota” or direct entry. MSID:: 130516651 413 |
