The ED’s Bengaluru office delivered a body blow to a seat-blocking racket, attaching ₹19.46 crore properties of BMS Educational Trust trustees. Comprising prime real estate like a plot and flats, the freeze under PMLA targets proceeds of education scams executed on January 21.
Police complaints ignited the probe into engineering admissions fraud via Karnataka Examination Authority. BMS colleges allegedly reserved seats for sale, extracting massive undeclared cash from students and proxies disguised as consultants.
Raids exposed the modus operandi: excess fees collected covertly, seats brokered for profit. Authorities recovered ₹1.86 crore cash, alongside diaries, messages, and files evidencing ₹20.20 crore illicit flows. Confessions from insiders confirmed personal enrichment by trustees.
As the investigation deepens, this exposes vulnerabilities in India’s admission ecosystem. ED vows comprehensive action, potentially unraveling a network of corrupt practices. The public demands reforms to prevent such exploitation of aspiring engineers.