BHADOHI, Uttar Pradesh – Police in Bhadohi have arrested a lab technician for his alleged involvement in a gang that secured MBBS admissions using forged ‘freedom fighter family’ certificates. The arrest, made on Sunday, targets a scheme that affected at least nine student admissions in Uttar Pradesh government and autonomous medical colleges.
The arrested accused is Shubham Singh , 27, from Jigna in Mirzapur district. Singh worked as a lab technician at a government health centre in Zamania, Ghazipur. Gyanpur police apprehended him on Sunday while he was allegedly collecting a payment from an MBBS student.
During the arrest, police recovered Rs 4.8 lakh in cash from Singh. This sum constituted part of a Rs 5 lakh payment allegedly received from the father of candidate Divyanshu Verma, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhimanyu Manglik. Police reported that Singh had struck a deal for Rs 15 lakh to secure Divyanshu Verma’s MBBS admission using a fabricated freedom fighter certificate.
Investigation Uncovers Forged Certificates
The Director General of Medical Education and Training (DGME), Uttar Pradesh, initiated the investigation. On August 27, 2025 , the DGME requested police verification for certificates submitted by nine students. All nine students were residents of various parts of Bhadohi. They had secured MBBS admission in the 2012-13 academic session under the freedom fighter quota.
Police indicated that the DGME suspected irregularities due to the dubious appearance of the documents. The District Magistrate’s office conducted a thorough verification. This process confirmed that none of the nine certificates had been officially issued; all were found to be forged documents.
FIR Lodged and Accused Students Identified
Based on these findings, clerk Shahid Ali filed an official complaint. An First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on September 20, 2025 . The FIR falls under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning cheating and forgery. District Magistrate Shailesh Kumar ordered the filing of the complaint.
The nine students whose admissions are under scrutiny include:
- Shambhavi Arya
- Divyanshu Verma
- Sejal Singh
- Shivansh Yadav
- Anvi Bhushan
- Amit Srivastava
- Ayatuzzahra
- Isha Yadav
- Deepika Arya
Details of the Scheme and Ongoing Hunt for Associates
During the police investigation, Divyanshu Verma provided crucial information. He stated that Shubham Singh and an associate, Pardeep Dubey , had arranged the forged freedom fighter certificate for his NEET-2025 admission . Verma added that the duo had demanded Rs 15 lakh from his father, Dr. Ghanshyam Verma. Dr. Verma is also employed at the Zamania health centre. Of this amount, Rs 5 lakh was scheduled for payment on Sunday, with the remainder to follow.
Police arrested Shubham Singh near the Singhpur canal bridge in the Gyanpur area. Singh allegedly admitted to receiving money from Dr. Verma. He also confirmed the involvement of other individuals in the scam. Authorities are currently conducting efforts to locate and arrest Shubham Singh’s associates. Singh was scheduled for production before a court on Monday.