Indore: Fake marksheet and degree scam exposed, mastermind arrested

Kundan Pandey

INDORE: The Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) fake marksheet and degree scam exposed an international connection with the arrest of the proprietor of a city-based coaching institute, Mukesh Verma, running Bright Careers Coaching Institute here, is said to be the alleged kingpin of the racket.

The city police on Friday claimed to have arrested Verma, from the institute on the Sapna-Sangita road and identified two of his accomplices, who are reportedly absconding.

Investigations have revealed that Verma had allegedly been running the racket since 2006 and sold thousands of fake academic certificates to people across the country and even abroad. Names of two UK-based persons, who have allegedly procured the fake certificates from the accused, have also come up during the investigation. Unconfirmed reports said that some non-resident Indians were also reportedly the clients of the racket, which police refused to comment.

Choti Gwaltoli inspector Anil Singh Rathore said that Verma is expected to reveal the modus operandi of the racket and also the names of the beneficiaries.

Rathore said that the accused were allegedly procuring certificates from the university in connivance of the university staff. However, the police could not collect any evidence to establish the involvement of the DAVV employees vis-a-vis the case and investigations are on in this direction, he added.

The racket was busted by the police on January 27 with the arrest of three persons in Indore on a tip-off. They recovered hundreds of blank marksheets from the trio identified as Vikram, Krishnakant and Dewan Narendra Singh from the city. They reportedly told the police that these certificates were printed with fudged marks and given to the ‘needy’.

According to Rathore, people in India and abroad received the fake marksheets and degrees. He claimed that the cops received a tip-off about two persons from the UK to have contacted Verma for obtaining the fake certificates in which one set has already been delivered while the second set was seized by the police soon after the arrest.

Police have learnt that the accused used to charge somewhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 80,000 to provide fake marksheets and certificates.

The inspector said that the racketeers were preparing these academic certificates after getting orders on their cell phones and through letters. The cops are planning to investigate the bank accounts of the accused, mobile numbers and also people to whom the fake certificates have been provided.

The seized fake marksheets and degree certificates were sent to the DAVV for verification. Police have confiscated more than a dozen marksheets, migration certificates, around 100 photographs of the candidates on suspicion.

Unconfirmed reports said that even some non-resident Indians were reportedly the clients of the racket. However, senior officials refused to comment over the issue. DSP, crime, Jitendra Singh said that the university confirmed that the certificates were forged. He also said that police were trying to dig deep into the case.

Source: Times Of India