₹33 Crore Scholarship Scam at Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College: ED Files Chargesheet

The scholarship scam in Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College (MRMC) in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, was conducted by the chairman of the same college. He received ₹33 crore from the scholarship amount of the students, which was kept in the bank. Later, he purchased properties in the name of his sons, Rajkumar Bilgundi and Santosh Bilgundi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mangalore Sub-Regional Office, has filed the charge sheet in the Special Court against Bhimashankar Bilgundi and Mallana S. Maddarki under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The charge sheet includes the scholarship scam in MRMC from 2018 to 2024.

The ED initiated investigation into the case based on an FIR registered by the Kalaburagi City Central Crime Police Station in Karnataka under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, against Dr. S.M. Patil, Canara Bank Manager Subhash, and others. The main accused, Bhimashankar Bilgundi (the then-president of the Hyderabad Education Society, which manages MRMC), with the assistance of accounting department staff and Mallanna S. Maddarki (office superintendent), embezzled ₹33,34,78,691 from scholarship funds deposited in the bank accounts of MRMC PG medical students between 2018 and 2024.

He collected blank, signed checks from students at the time of admission and encashed them after filling in the details. This resulted in the students being denied their scholarships. In this case, the ED conducted raids at nine locations in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, between April and May 2025. The searches resulted in the seizure of various incriminating documents. During the investigation, the immovable properties purchased by the main accused, Bhimashankar Bilgundi, in the names of his sons, Rajkumar Bilgundi and Santosh Bilgundi, were identified, as well as several bank accounts of Bhimashankar Bilgundi, and immovable properties belonging to the second accused, Mallanna S. Maddarki. Crime proceeds of Rs 6.72 crore have been provisionally attached through PO.