On Thursday (July 14), the popular Indian photoblog ‘Humans of Bombay’ posted the story of a 22-year-old Muskaan, who apparently required ₹23 lakhs to pursue a master’s in Psychology at Harvard University.
The Instagram post detailed her journey as an ‘anxious’ teenager who found guidance under her school counsellor. “After 2 years of counselling, my grades improved too. And after I topped college, I realized I wanted to do for other kids what my counsellor did for me – I, too, wanted to become a counsellor,” it read.
“And just then, I came across the Master’s course for Psychology at Harvard! I said, ‘I believe in myself’ & applied. And 2 months later, I got the best email, ‘You’re accepted to study at Harvard!’; I was the youngest Indian to get in! And the happiness in mom’s eyes was indescribable,” the Instagram post emphasised.
‘Humans of Bombay’ claimed that Muskaan spent ₹2.5 lakhs in application and visa fees. “My mom is a single mom & the breadwinner; she’s putting down her savings for me. Still, Rs. 23 lakhs more are required for me to study there…,” the post stated.
It further added, “I’ve worked extremely hard to get where I’ve gotten but to go further ahead, I need your help. It took me a long time to find the will to dream, & now that I’m close, I don’t want to give up on it…”
The popular photoblog posted the link to a fundraising campaign, which was hosted on Ketto. As of July 16, 2022, the campaign has amassed ₹12.94 lakhs ($18,494).
Netizens highlight discrepancies in fundraiser floated by Muskaan; compare her with Rana Ayyub
Netizens were quick to point out obvious discrepancies in the fundraising campaign. Popular Twitter user (@BefittingFacts) informed that Muskaan had been running a similar fundraising campaign on Milaap.
He wrote, “Muskaan Bawa is collecting ₹25 Lakh in Milaap and ₹23.62 Lakh in Ketto for her ‘Education’. In Milaap she is from Dharmshala and in Ketto she is from Chandigarh.”
Muskaan Bawa is collecting ₹25 Lakh in Milaap and ₹23.62 Lakh in Ketto for her ‘Education’.
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) July 16, 2022
In Milaap she is from Dharmshala and in Ketto she is from Chandigarh.@dir_ed @FinMinIndia pic.twitter.com/zRh3ankVZI
Another Twitter user (@Naarad_Munii) stated that the last date to confirm Muskaan’s admission to Harvard was April 15, 2022, and that she has been raising funds for the same in July of this year.
She had to confirm her admission by 15 April 2022. July aa gaya abhi tak donation maang rahe hai… 😂 😂 😂@IncomeTaxIndia Wake up from sleep.. 😂 😂 😂 pic.twitter.com/cRniFmOsCG
— Indravardhan Sarabhai ઇન્દ્રવરધન સારાભાઈ (@Naarad_Munii_) July 16, 2022
One user claimed that Muskaan Bawa is a model by profession. “So ‘Humans of Bombay’ has made a fake story about Muskaan Bawa, who is a model by profession, that she needs money for education at Harvard. Money can be easily attained by Loan. “
He also sought the intervention of the Mumbai police. “Please look into this fraud,” he tweeted.
So @HumansOfBombay has made fake story about Muskaan Bawa who is a model by profession that she need money for education at Harvard. Money which can be easily attained by Loan. Dear @MumbaiPolice
— Jhootha LOL Gadha™ 🐖 (@FakeRainaNepfew) July 16, 2022
Please look into this fraud practice.https://t.co/ocfumNN0Ie pic.twitter.com/4Jvm9M0cJK https://t.co/3wNJ9gtPrG pic.twitter.com/mn1Auus5ER
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) handle ‘The Hawk Eye’ claimed that Muskaan had earlier put up a similar fundraising campaign in the past.
“In May’22 also she raised a similar campaign. Location was Kangra (H.P.), write-up name was Muskan (one “a” missing). Email Id was muskaanbawa7/Gmail. Now with an ultra enhanced write-up (maybe Ketto marketing help), email is now bawamuskaan7/Gmail. Too much for coincidences,” it stated.
‘The Hawk Eye’ also alleged that Muskaan had cited 2 different universities in different fundraising campaigns on Ketto.
GS Lohia Girls college is in Aasam. Whereas in Ketto write up she mentioned Punjab University !? pic.twitter.com/RHmEsDsOzh
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) July 16, 2022
Concerned netizens also posted in the comment section of the fundraising campaign in the hopes to deter naive people from donating to her. “It’s a scam. Big One. She’s a model,” wrote one Alex Hales. Another user Ishita urged benefactors to not donate a single rupee to Muskaan.
Allegations of misappropriation of funds by Rana Ayyub
On February 10 this year, OpIndia reported that ED seized Rs 1.77 crore in Ayyub’s and her family’s accounts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A few days after the expose, Ayyub alleged in a statement that she was being framed for her “journalism” and that she did not misuse the money.
However, all her claims were debunked by a Twitter user Hawk Eye who was the first to share details of alleged charity fraud last year. The ED has, in its attachment order, said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors.”
The order emphasised that the ‘scam’ started from the time she received the funds, which she did not use for Covid-19 relief work. She instead made a fixed deposit of ₹50 lakhs and transferred the amount to the savings account of her father, and sister through net banking. You can read the details about the allegations of misuse of Covid-19 funds by clicking on the link here. ED had also stated that the bills Ayyub had provided to show relief work do not add up.
On March 29, Rana Ayyub was stopped by Indian Immigration officials from boarding a flight to London due to the pending money laundering case against her. On April 4, she was granted permission to travel abroad by the Delhi High Court with the pre-requirement that she divulges details of her travel, contacts and her place of stay.
