Pune Woman Held at Mumbai Airport in Rs 1.13 Crore MBBS Seat Fraud
The Powai police have arrested a 32-year-old Pune woman at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for allegedly defrauding a Dubai-based Indian businesswoman of Rs 1.13 crore by falsely promising to secure an MBBS seat for her daughter. Following her detention, she was produced before the 66th Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Andheri.
The accused, identified as Saumya Karan Bothara, was intercepted by immigration authorities on August 13 pursuant to a lookout alert as she allegedly attempted to leave for Dubai. Powai police took custody of her, while her husband and alleged primary accused, Karan Dilip Bothara, remains at large.
According to police records, the case originated in 2022 when the complainant, Hemlata Jagdish Joshi, a 42-year-old Dubai-based businesswoman and Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, was seeking medical admission for her daughter after Class 12. Joshi had known the couple since 2019 after meeting them during a trip to India.
Police stated that Karan Bothara allegedly leveraged this relationship by claiming to possess influential contacts at medical colleges in Mumbai and Pune. He assured Joshi that he could secure an MBBS seat for Rs 3.20 crore. Trusting the claim, Joshi paid Rs 1.13 crore in cash as an advance, with the understanding that the remaining balance would be settled once the admission was finalised.
The admission was never secured, and the accused failed to return the advance. When Joshi demanded repayment, Karan Bothara issued cheques that were subsequently dishonoured due to insufficient funds. Joshi approached the Powai police after the couple allegedly threatened her when she pursued the matter.
An FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention). The couple received interim anticipatory bail from the Mumbai Sessions Court on June 26, 2025, but police alleged they failed to comply with investigation requirements. Their anticipatory bail pleas were later rejected by the Dindoshi Sessions Court on March 7, 2026, and by the Bombay High Court on June 12, 2026.
After her arrest, Saumya Bothara was initially remanded to police custody by the Andheri court and has since been moved to judicial custody. Police noted she is also named in two cheating cases registered in Pune at the Market Yard and Chaturshringi police stations. Powai police continue to search for Karan Bothara while tracing the utilisation of the defrauded funds.
