Mumbai doctor duped out of Rs 4 lakh, had promised brother-in-law medical admission

A doctor at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital was allegedly duped out of Rs 4 lakh by a fraudster promising admission for his brother-in-law to a medical college in Jalgaon. Santosh Gite, 43, filed a complaint at JJ Marg police station against a man who identified himself as Manish Maruti Salaskar.

“Last year, after the pandemic began, the doctor was treating Covid-19 patients at GT hospital when he was introduced to Salaskar, who was a volunteer at an NGO working,” said a police officer.

Salaskar claimed that he was the zonal manager of a newspaper’s circulation department and knew local politicians well. The doctor trusted him and asked him whether he could help his brother-in-law Pratik Ghule secure admission to a medical college.

“Salaskar told him that he knew people at Dr Ulhas Patil Medical College in Jalgaon and could help his brother-in-law get admission there. He then went to demand Rs 4 lakh as advance for the admission,” said the officer. The doctor told the police that his brother-in-law’s family had agreed to pay the amount and subsequently transferred Rs 4 lakh to Salaskar’s bank account.

Since his brother-in-law did not get admission even after it was closed in July 2020, the doctor then asked Salaskar to return the money. Salaskar, however, refused to return it initially and then on August 12, gave the doctor a cheque of Rs 4 lakhs.