ED Moves Court To Confiscate Rs 46 Lakh Assets In Odisha’s MBBS Seat Scam

Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved Sessions Judge Court here for conviction and confiscation of assets worth Rs 46 lakh owned by four persons, including a woman, allegedly involved in cheating many MBBS aspirants to the tune of about Rs 2 crore.

Raghunath Behera, his brother Bharat Behera, Soumyakant Mohanty and his wife Biswakalpana Mohanty have been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The central agency had earlier attached bank balances to the tune of Rs 12.15 lakh and immovable assets worth Rs 46 lakh of the accused.

Last year, the ED launched an investigation into the matter basing on the FIRs and chargesheets filed by the state Crime Branch. The accused allegedly duped several youths on the promise of enrolling them in different medical colleges in management quota. ED officers ascertained that the attached property was accumulated by the accused and their family members through the proceeds of the crimes.

Crime Branch had registered a case in this connection in 2019 after receiving a complaint from one Sujit Nath Choudhury.