Published Jun 25, 2025 | 3:20 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 25, 2025 | 3:20 PM
The simultaneous searches began early on Wednesday, 25 June.
Synopsis: The ED conducted the searches three months after the Malleswaram police submitted a preliminary chargesheet in the case. The chargesheet named an outsourced employee of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and his accomplices.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted simultaneous searches on multiple engineering colleges and related locations across Bengaluru on Wednesday, 25 June.
The searches, which began early in the morning, were part of the ongoing investigation into the engineering seat-blocking scam. Besides colleges, the trustees of the institutions, their main associates, offices, and residences of a few private education consultants and seat-blocking agents, were also being searched. Sources said 18 premises were being inspected.
The colleges searched were the BMS College of Engineering, Akash Institute of Engineering and Technology, and New Horizon College of Engineering.
The ED conducted the searches three months after the Malleswaram police submitted a preliminary chargesheet in the case. The chargesheet named an outsourced employee of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and his accomplices.
Earlier, KEA had filed a police complaint in connection with a major seat-blocking scam that allegedly manipulated the final round of the 2024 engineering colleges’ admission process.
The KEA’s complaint alleged that three colleges, in collusion with middlemen and certain students, were involved in misusing login credentials to block seats in high-demand courses during the second extended round of seat allotment.
The fraudulent activity reportedly deprived eligible candidates of opportunities for admission, raising serious concerns over the integrity of the seat allocation process.
The process of KCET-2024 counselling for seat allotment was held between 25 August and 8 October, 2024. Over 2.70 lakh students were eligible for admission to engineering colleges.
According to KEA’s preliminary report, 2,625 students, who were allocated seats in the second extended counselling round, failed to join their respective colleges.
It raised concerns of malpractice, with evidence pointing to the misuse of the students’ login credentials and possible collusion between middlemen and certain institutions to manipulate seat allocation in high-demand courses.
The preliminary report stated that KEA allocated engineering seats for the year 2024 through a systematic option entry process conducted in the first round, second round, and second extended rounds.
These seats were allotted to students who appeared for the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2024.
Before opening the option entry portal for the second and second extended rounds, KEA had issued clear instructions through various publications that students were to discuss with their families and carefully select their preferred colleges during the option entry process, as accepting a seat would mean admission to the allotted college, and changes could not be made afterwards.
Despite these directives, a total of 2,625 students who secured seats in the second extended round failed to join their respective colleges.
This resulted in eligible and interested candidates being denied the opportunity to obtain these seats.
Some college management boards reportedly allocate these seats to lower-ranked students in exchange for higher fees.
