Police in Bhadohi have arrested a key member of a gang accused of helping nine students secure MBBS admissions in Uttar Pradesh government and autonomous medical colleges using forged freedom fighter family certificates.
The arrested man, Shubham Singh (27) of Jigna in Mirzapur, worked as a lab technician at a government health centre in Zamania, Ghazipur. He was detained by Gyanpur police on Sunday while allegedly collecting a pre-arranged payment from an MBBS student, officials said.
Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik stated that police recovered Rs4.8 lakh from Shubham, part of the Rs5 lakh paid by Dr. Ghanshyam Verma, father of candidate Divyanshu Verma. Investigators revealed that Shubham had struck a Rs15 lakh deal to secure Divyanshu’s medical admission using a forged freedom fighter certificate.
The case began on August 27, 2025, when the Director General of Medical Education (UP) asked police to verify certificates submitted by nine MBBS students admitted in the 2012–13 academic session under the freedom fighter quota. The documents appeared suspicious, prompting verification.
The nine students whose certificates were found forged include Shambhavi Arya, Divyanshu Verma, Sejal Singh, Shivansh Yadav, Anvi Bhushan, Amit Srivastava, Ayatuzzahra, Isha Yadav, and Deepika Arya.
Verification by the district magistrate’s office confirmed that none of the certificates had ever been officially issued. Based on a complaint by clerk Shahid Ali, an FIR was lodged on September 20, 2025, under cheating and forgery provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following orders from District Magistrate Shailesh Kumar.
During questioning, Divyanshu told police that Shubham and his associate Pardeep Dubey arranged the forged certificate for his NEET-2025 admission. The duo allegedly demanded Rs15 lakh, asking for Rs5 lakh upfront and the remaining amount later.
Police arrested Shubham near the Singhpur canal bridge in Gyanpur and recovered the cash. Shubham allegedly confessed to receiving the money and admitted that more people were involved. Search operations are underway to arrest his associates, officials said.
