I-T DEPT MAKES RECORD SEIZURE OF RS43CR CASH FROM VYDEHI INSTITUTE TRUSTEE

What does it take to be a doctor? Aptitude mostly. But truckloads of money sometimes does the trick too. This stash of Rs43 crore is your evidence. In one of its biggest raids, this was the amount the income tax department seized in cash from the residence of one of the trustees of the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre. This money – in wads of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes – is said to be the capitation fee collected from students, primarily for medical seats. It is the largest seizure in Karnataka and the second largest in the country – the first being the Rs82 crore in cash seized from a private medical college in Puducherry. The last time a massive amount was seized in the state was Rs19.5 crore in December 2015 from a medical college in Raichur, run by the Navodaya Educational Trust. This apart, the institution in Whitefield, run by the Srinivasa Trust, has admitted to an unaccounted income of over Rs265 crore. Following specific information and working on a tip-off, for over a month, officials from the I-T investigation directorate swooped on the institution in the early hours of Friday and searched the premises. A few other associated institutions in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, and the premises of key members of the group, were also searched. “The three-day search, which started in the early hours of September 23, resulted in a massive haul of unaccounted currency totaling around Rs43 crore, recovered from the premises of the group. The money is cash donations collected during admissions to the medical college. Apart from the unprecedented cash seizure, which is the largest in Karnataka, a large number of incriminating documents and other forms of evidence have also been seized. This has resulted in the immediate disclosure of unaccounted income of over Rs265 crore. Further scrutiny of the evidence is in progress,’’ sources told Bangalore Mirror. The Vydehi group, whose founder chairman was the late liquor businessman DK Audikesavulu, also owns a chain of hospitals. The institution offers medical, dental, paramedical and nursing courses, and runs a charitable hospital. According to sources, the institution has partnered with Lakeside Hospital, several diagnostic centres, and has investments in 300-bed hospitals in Bidar and West Bengal. The group is now owned by Audikesavulu’s wife. Private medical colleges and the hefty capitation fees collected for medical seats have been under the I-T department’s scanner for a while. Recently, MS Ramaiah group’s offices were searched and the management admitted to Rs275 crore in unaccounted income. In 2013, five medical colleges and a teaching hospital, owned by influential trusts, were searched and Rs28.31 crore in cash -- donations collected for medical seats -- was seized from their premises. The final assessment report has put the undisclosed income at Rs174.85 crore.