Bengaluru: Police bust engineering seat scam; arrest 10 who connived with private colleges

The Malleshwaram police have arrested 10 people involved in a major scam that cheated deserving engineering candidates out of seats. The accused were blocking government quota seats at various engineering colleges to benefit private institutions.

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The scam was uncovered after the head of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) lodged a complaint. Investigations revealed that the accused had illegally obtained login credentials, passwords, and secret pins of 52 engineering students. This allowed them to act on behalf of these students during the seat allocation process.

The group targeted government quota seats at colleges such as BMS Engineering College, Akash Institute of Engineering, and New Horizon Engineering College. They would sell these seats under the management quota for large sums of money. The accused primarily focused on students who attended KEA counselling but later rejected their allotted seats.

A total of 2,625 students had rejected their government seats, making it easier for the scammers to strike deals and resell them. These seats, originally reserved under the government quota, were then re-sold under the management quota for lakhs of rupees.

Harsha, the kingpin of the racket, was arrested along with his associates—Prakash, Ravishankar, Puneeth, ShashiKumar, Purushottam, and Avinash. As the investigation progressed, some of the accused attempted to destroy evidence. One person even went to Kadur to burn laptops.

It is suspected that a few workers from KEA might also be involved in the scam. The Malleshwaram police are continuing their investigation into the matter. This case highlights the extent of corruption in the education system and the illegal practices that some people are willing to engage in for financial gain.