A Special Investigation Team (SIT) established by the Narmada District police to probe into claims of a fraudulent nursing college operating in the district, the chairman of a local trust, Maa Kaamal Foundation, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly defrauding prospective students from the tribal area by promising them admission to nursing programs and collecting money from roughly 77 students since 2021.
Rajpipla Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Sanjay Sharma, who is in charge of the SIT, said that Dr. Anilkesar Gohil, the Maa Kaamal Foundation convenor, was taken into custody on Friday following the filing of a formal complaint at the Rajpipla police station by a tribal student who lived in Jhagadia in Bharuch.
According to the FIR, Gohil “made booklets of his foundation, luring students with ads for a three-year nursing course for an initial fee of Rs 1.74 lakh and he also took an additional sum of Rs 6,500 for the examination.” According to the complainant, no lessons have been held since 2021, and she has not been given any marksheets or certificates.
Sharma said, “The SIT was formed by Narmada District Superintendent of Police Prashant Sumbe after we received complaints of a possible case of cheating. It was headed by me as the DySP Rajpipla and included the Police Inspectors of Rajpipla police station, Special Operations Group as well as the Local Crime Branch of Narmada district. We conducted an in-depth investigation into the case and recorded statements of 77 students, who had been cheated in the case.”
Although the college was not located in the district, Sharma said, the accused’s Maa Kaamal Foundation allegedly sent out leaflets to kids finishing their upper secondary education and enrolled them in nursing programs.
He added, “The primary interrogation of the accused after his arrest on Friday has revealed that this organisation took money from the students to complete the admission procedure for nursing colleges located in Karnataka. The money was taken into the account of the Foundation from the students and they were taken to Bangalore for examinations but not actually made to write any exams. So, they have also not received any certificates or marksheets for three years. The Chairman took fees from the students but we have not come across any other agents who worked for them”.
According to the FIR, this Trust advertised itself as a nursing college and contacted students through their schools. According to the student’s complaint, she visited the foundation’s office in August 2021 and was greeted by a “office clerk” who gave her a brochure showcasing a “General Nursing and Midwifery college (GNM)” and offering scholarships and placements in both public and private hospitals. The accused reportedly “took away original marksheets of Class X and Class XII, leaving no option before the students but to wait in hope,” according to the FIR, which also lists the names of 13 additional students who were allegedly defrauded by the foundation.
According to the FIR, four female teachers—Hemali Machi, Rashmika Vasava, Radha Paswan, and Manisha Vasava—taught theory general sessions in Gujarati for six months, but the foundation allegedly failed to begin “practicals” for nurses. The complainant has claimed that the organization later provided a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month to send students to 13 different private hospitals in Surat to learn practicals.
The FIR states that in 2022, the foundation notified the students that they would need to travel to take tests after their admission to a nursing college in Bengaluru, Karnataka, was verified. In Bengaluru, the foundation collected Rs 10,000 per student for transportation, lodging, and meals, but claimed that no hall passes had been distributed. They indicated that the following year, we would have to take the exams for two academic years at once,” the FIR says. Additionally, it states that three students in Karnataka even obtained their hall pass and showed up for the exams, while the remaining pupils were not given the chance to take any tests, not even in 2023.
Evidence of receipts for payments made to the foundation has been provided to the police. Earlier in November, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Chaitar Vasava started a campaign against the “bogus” nursing college in Rajpipla. On November 21, he and the students stood in protest at the district administration’s office, claiming that the foundation had defrauded them. Vasava had accused the foundation of operating a similar ring in the districts of Narmada, Navsari, and Surat.
Vasava said, “We had been raising the issue of the nursing college ever since the students came to complain to us. We had probed and understood that this foundation had no recognition from NCRT or UGC and had no power to conduct examinations or offer
degree courses. We asked them to return the fees of the students. They have already cheated students and ruined three years of their life.”
Warning parents and students against falling prey to such fraud, Sharma said, “Whenever you take admission into any institution, do check the background, history and antecedents before paying fees. It is better to be an alert citizen…”
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