2 weeks Ago
Surat: After busting a major degree racket thriving for the last 20 years, Surat police will now probe the bank accounts of the two masterminds, Rasesh Gujarati and B K Ravat, who allegedly accumulated thousands of crores by selling the degrees. The Pandesara police produced the duo and 12 others arrested on Thursday in court and obtained police custody of both doctors until Dec 11. "We need to verify the details of 1,500 degree holders and the financial transactions of Gujarati and Ravat.
We will also investigate how much they accumulated through extortion and annual fees. We will seek the bank account details of both and ascertain the scale of the scam," said a police officer. Meanwhile, the Congress and BJP traded barbs over the political affiliation of Gujarati as reports surfaced about his appointment as chairman of Surat Doctors' Cell in the past.
Dr Hemang Vasavada, vice-president of Gujarat Congress, who reportedly appointed Gujarati as the chairman, alleged that Gujarati is associated with the BJP. "In 2019, when Gujarati was appointed, he did not have any cases registered against him. We found that since 2021 he is active with BJP.
He also organised a meeting and invited BJP leaders," Dr Vasavada said. In response, BJP spokesman Yagnesh Dave said, "Congress always resorts to cheap politics over issues. Gujarati is a quack and also helped many become fake doctors.
Any act which compromises public safety should not be supported." On Thursday, the police busted the racket and arrested 14 people, including the kingpins who allegedly issued fraudulent Bachelor of Electro Homeopathic Medicine (BEMS) degrees, enabling at least 1,500 people to practice as quacks. They charged Rs 75,000 per degree and even extorted money from the quacks under the guise of protecting them from potential police action if caught.
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