A young graduate who hoped to study at a university in the United States was found dead in Islamabad on Friday, days after her family discovered that the admission and scholarship documents given to them by an education consultant were fake, an Islamabad education scam that cost the family around Rs7 million, relatives said.
The student had completed her bachelor’s degree from the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) with a gold medal. Her family said they sold a plot of land and jewellery worth around Rs7 million to pay a consultant who promised to secure her admission and scholarship abroad.
Police spokesperson Sharif Ullah said the body was found in the jurisdiction of the Ramna police station on Friday. Police said the death appeared to be a suicide at first sight, but the actual cause would be established after a post-mortem examination and further investigation. The body was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where the post-mortem was under way.
How the family was deceived in the Islamabad education scam
Speaking to Express News outside the hospital mortuary, the student’s maternal uncle, Rana Amjad, said she was an exceptionally capable student who had completed her BS degree with a gold medal and wanted to pursue further education.
Her father had been supplying milk on a motorcycle in Islamabad for the past 30 years and lived with his family in a rented flat in the capital, Amjad said.
According to Amjad, his niece met a man while visiting a place for an interview. The man claimed he could secure her admission to a university in the United States, and after discussing the offer with her father, the family decided to go ahead despite opposition from her brothers.
Her father sold a plot in a private housing society and paid Rs2.1 million to the consultant, Amjad said. The consultant later demanded more money, saying it needed to be deposited in the student’s bank account to generate a bank statement required for the application.
Amjad said his brother-in-law then handed over his wife’s jewellery to the consultant. Instead of depositing the jewellery’s value into the student’s account, the man allegedly deposited it into his own account and gave her a fake bank receipt.
“All the documents were fake”
Amjad, a lawyer by profession, said the family approached him only after handing over the money and jewellery, when the consultant’s repeated delays in arranging his niece’s travel to the United States raised their suspicions.
He examined the documents provided by the consultant, including an admission letter purportedly issued by Harvard University, a scholarship letter and other university-related papers, and had them checked through relatives living in the United States.
“We found out that all the documents were fake,” he said.
Amjad said he told his niece that the family had been defrauded, and she broke down in tears. “She told me not to tell her father because he would not be able to bear it,” he said, adding that she remained deeply distressed over what had happened.
What happens next
Police said the circumstances surrounding the death would become clearer after the post-mortem examination and investigation. No statement from the consultant was reported.
The case has drawn attention to education consultancy scams that target families desperate to send their children abroad for higher studies, often asking for large sums upfront and producing forged university documents.
Frequently asked questions
What is known about the consultant?
The family says a man they met during an interview visit offered to arrange the student’s US admission and scholarship, took Rs2.1 million after the sale of a plot, and later took the family’s jewellery. Police have not named a suspect publicly.
What did the documents turn out to be?
According to the student’s maternal uncle, who had them checked through relatives in the United States, the admission letter said to be from Harvard University, a scholarship letter and other papers were all fake.
Where does the investigation stand?
Police say the death initially appeared to be a suicide, but the cause will be confirmed after the post-mortem at Pims and further investigation.
The original report appeared in The Express Tribune.
