Man held again for duping students

New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) A man was arrested here for duping people on the pretext of getting them admission into medical and engineering colleges in the country and abroad, police said Friday.

This is the second time Piyush Bharat Saini, in his 40s, has been arrested; he had earlier served a nearly two−year−long jail term on conviction in a similar offence.

Saini, who hails from Roorkee in Uttarakhand, was arrested from his residence in Paschim Vihar Thursday, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) S.B.S. Tyagi.

Saini would claim to be able to get students admitted to engineering and medical colleges not only in India but also in Europe, New Zealand and Singapore, Tyagi said.

He had been involved in around 13 cases of duping, and he had made at least Rs.2 crore by making false promises of admission.

Each student he promised to help was charged between Rs.15 lakh and Rs.45 lakh, Tyagi said.

It was a complaint from a retired professor that helped police nab the fraudster.

The retired professor, Prem Singh Sekhon, a resident of Fatehgarh in Punjab, had attempted to get his grandson admitted to a medical course in Pune in Maharashtra.

He had paid Rs.15 lakh to Saini to secure an admission.

Tyagi said the first time Saini was arrested, he had cheated a student of Rs.1.5 lakh, promising him admission in an engineering college. That time, Saini was in jail for around 23 months, from August 2004 to June 2006.

After finishing his jail term, Saini resumed his earlier activity and started an admission guidance centre with the name ‘Education Wise’ in Old Rajender Nagar.

Saini would also publish advertisements in leading newspapers to lure more students into his trap.

IANS 2012-11-23 22:28:04