Mumbai: The city police’s Crime Branch Unit 10 on Wednesday arrested Hyderabad-based EduVio Learning Solution Pvt Ltd directors Aditya Kumar Arogonda and Arvind Rao in connection with an alleged MBBS admission racket in which parents were promised guaranteed seats through the NEET counselling process but neither got admissions nor refunds, police said.A local court remanded both accused in police custody. Police said they had earlier been arrested by Hyderabad police and Pune police in similar cheating cases.According to investigators, a Ratnagiri garage owner lost Rs 13.94 lakh and a Kandivli resident lost Rs 18.58 lakh after being assured MBBS admissions for their daughters. The two are among at least a dozen parents who have approached police, alleging EduVio lured medical aspirants through social media advertisements promising confirmed MBBS seats across India.The fresh complaint was filed by Ratnagiri resident Irshad Jambharkar, who came across an EduVio advertisement on Instagram in Sept 2025 while looking for admission options for his daughter, a NEET candidate. Company representatives allegedly told him a seat would be secured under the management quota and that the payment would be refunded if admission did not go through. He paid Rs 13.94 lakh and was later given an alleged allotment letter for a medical college in Jalna, but the admission did not materialise, police said.Kandivli resident Sayyed Khan alleged that EduVio representatives contacted him after he responded to an Instagram advertisement for NEET counselling. He first paid Rs 50,000 and later transferred further amounts totalling Rs 18.58 lakh after being assured that his daughter would get admission to a medical college. The admission was not secured and the money was not returned, he alleged.The alleged fraud came to light after Jambharkar approached Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti during a public grievance hearing. A case was registered and later transferred to the Crime Branch. “We have learnt that the duo and other wanted accomplices have similarly cheated many aspiring MBBS candidates. Six to seven parents have so far approached us,” a Crime Branch officer said.Investigators suspect the accused used social media advertisements to collect between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 40 lakh from families and issued forged allotment letters. Police also registered a case for cheating, breach of trust and common intention, naming Venkatarao Kusume, Krishna Patil, Ronit Pawade, Pradeep Nair and Vidya Patil.
