Lucknow institute cons Sultanpur College, sells fake PCI franchise for DPharma course

A man operating an institute near Halwasaya Court allegedly sold a fraudulent Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) franchise to a college in Sultanpur, claiming to be an authorised distributor. The students of the college enrolled and paid for the course, only to discover years later that it was a scam.

Upon realising the certificates, they received were fake, the students informed the college, which subsequently informed Hazratganj police, leading to registration of an FIR.

“The matter was brought to the police station on September 18 after a complaint was filed by Sanjay Kumar Singh from the college, after which a case was registered under 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach) of the IPC,” said Vikram Singh, SHO, Hazratganj.

The complainant, Sanjay Kumar Singh, a resident of Sultanpur told HT that over 20-25 students from his college in Sultanpur were affected. He also mentioned that Ayush Tiwari, who runs Cambridge Institute of Pharmacy on the 4th floor of Halwasiya Court-3, MG Road Hazratganj, had similarly duped another college in Gonda.

In the FIR, Sanjay explained that during the COVID period, he was contacted multiple times by the institute. After the COVID period was over, he met the people who claimed to be the owner and manager of Cambridge Institute of Pharmacy. They also falsely asserted that he had permission from the Pharmacy Council of India to run DPharma course and the authority to give franchise for the same.

“He also claimed that he had provided franchises to many private colleges and showed the applicants an authority letter and certificate of the institution, which convinced me of his legitimacy. To secure franchise, I immediately paid an advance of ₹1 lakh on June 7, 2021. Later, I admitted students in good faith and their fee payment totalling ₹9,20,000 were transferred via RTGS on November 15, 2021, to the account provided by Ayush Tiwari. Additionally, around ₹10 lakh was paid in cash on multiple occasions,” the FIR read.

According to the complainant, after several rounds of classes, the institute issued certificate to the students, along with affiliation certificate. Upon completing the course, the student also received a certificate from Pharmacy Council of India. Notably, four students-Shaista Parveen, Shagufta Yasmeen, Neha Gupta and Prabhat Sharma- received green cards, which further increased the complainant’s faith in his institute. As a result, many others were also enrolled for the course.

“But while this was going on, some students verified their academic achievements online, and discovered that the certificates they received were fraudulent,” stated the complainant in the FIR adding that when he contacted Ayush Tiwari about the issue, he realised that Tiwari was evasive and did not provide clear answers.