Admission touts ply their trade online

Police raise concern over use of social networking sites by college admission 'agents' to advertise services

Police raise concern over use of social networking sites by college admission 'agents' to advertise services

Devnita Adhikari (25) of Mundhwa was looking forward to securing an MBA seat in a city-based college. For this, she had paid about Rs 17.5 lakh to an agent, Ashish Anand Kumarsingh (25), who claimed he could get the admission done.

Kumarsingh was arrested on July 21 by the Sangvi police after it came to light that he was a fraudster who duped students by promising them admission in reputable colleges. Kumarsingh and four accomplices had deposited Rs 8 lakh in a private account and collected the remaining amount through cheques.

Adhikari had responded to one of the numerous classified advertisements assuring admission to colleges posted on social networking websites such as Orkut or Facebook.

Besides networking sites, a search on the Internet throws up several phone numbers and lists of colleges where you can get your admission done. These agents, who are either from the city or from another state, assure complete transparency and low rates.

Cyber expert Sudam Chowre said, "Touts have changed their medium of operation nowadays. Instead of meeting in person, they are using the Internet and social networking websites to protect their identity."
The police have appealed to students to check the authencity of suchu00a0 advertisements.

This correspondent responded to some of the online advertisements and contacted two such agents. Here's what he found out. Excerpts of phone conversations with two such touts.

AGENT 1
Reporter: Can you do a computer engineering admission?
Agent 1 (in Delhi): Sir, where are you calling from?
Reporter: From Pune.
Agent 1: What is the candidate's entrance exam score? Which college do you want?
Reporter: Score is 100.
Agent 1: Okay. Sir, you will have to giveu00a0 Rs 4 lakh in cash ... Admission will be done without hassles to Bharti Vidyapeeth college. We have an office in Pune. My man will come with you to the college. All your work will be done in just one day.

AGENT 2
Reporter: We need and engineering admission.
Agent 2 (in Pune): What's the candidate's score?
Reporter: Marks and score are low. Can it be done?
Agent 2: It will be done, Sir. Candidate is male or female?
Reporter: Female
Agent 2: In that case, I recommend Raisoni, BVP, Siddhant college. But these daysu00a0 BVP is not safe for females.
Reporter: When do you need the money and documents?
Agent 2: We have direct connections with colleges. If you want to be sure about us, you can check about us with a university sir we will take you to.
Reporter: All right
Agent 2: My man will take you to the college. Give the moneyu00a0 directly over there.

Management quota seats are sold?
Some colleges allow agents to book their management quota seats in advance, sources allege. Such seats, especially medical, MBA and engineering, can go up to Rs 2 crore. Annual turnover from these deals is equivalent to the money spent in elections by parties, sources said. A college professor was even gifted a top-end car for an admission, a source said.

The Other Side
Registrar at Bharti Vidyapeeth, Jay Kumar said, "Bharti Vidyapeeth (BVP) is a deemed university and strictly follows the norms set by Supreme Court. Admissions are conducted on merit basis and entrance exam is compulsory for all students. So, there is no question of any authorised or unauthorised persons acting as our agents. Only students and their guardians are permitted on the BVP campus. Some people are deliberately misusing the institute's name and defaming us. We want to stop such practices, but are helpless as these touts operate outside our campus."