The City Crime Branch arrested 35 people in connection with the COMED-K seat blocking racket.
Acting on a tip-off, CISF officials at the Kempegowda International Airport examined the ID proofs of three ‘candidates’ who were in the city and found it does not match the COMED-K admit card.
On questioning, they not only spilled the beans but also led the police to Ajit Mondal (40) and Priyadarshi Singh, a B Tech student.
Mondal was the financier while Singh alias Prince was the agent, police said.
The two were taken into custody after a raid on a lodge in Majestic. Five other students were also among those arrested.
According to Hemanth Nimbalkar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), the arrested have admitted to their involvement in the racket last year as well.
“Singh would lure poor and meritorious students to write the exam, promising to pay `10,000 to `50,000. They would also be paid for their flight tickets and accommodation in the city,” Nimbalkar said.
The seats are blocked by these students, who, at the last minute, withdraw their applications, allowing the management to sell the seats at exorbitant prices.
Each transaction costs about `35 Lakh to `45 lakh, Nimbalkar said, adding that the police are also looking into the involvement of colleges in the racket.
Those involved in the scam were mostly medical students from Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. Among the detained persons, two were minors, police officials said.