Ishita Mishra
An application for a visa to the Australian high commission has exposed what could be a fake marksheet racket being run in the name of Dr B R Ambedkar University here.
According to sources, an applicant from Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh presented a fake marksheet of a B.Tech course at Dr B R Ambedkar University at the Australian high commission to procure a visa.
The high commission asked the university authorities to verify the documents as part of its routine check. It was then that university authorities found that the marksheet by the visa applicant was issued in 2013 bearing the signatures of a deputy registrar who died in 2004.
Talking to TOI, Professor BK Saraswat, director, Institute of Engineering and Technology affiliated to Dr B R Ambedkar University, said he received an email from the Australian high commission last week requesting him to verify the marksheet issued by university.
According to the information in the email, the marksheet was presented by one Nithin Kumar who claimed to be a holder of a B.Tech degree (in electronics and communication) from the university. But no such student of this name was found to be enrolled at the institute, said Saraswat. While the marksheet “issued in 2013″ had the signature of deputy registrar Jagat Pal who died in 2004, the degree bore the signatures of the present vice-chancellor and registrar.
An official at university said the high commission had earlier contacted the university registrar to inquire in the matter but after getting no response from him, they directly contacted the engineering institute’s director.
“I had received similar query three months ago but no one was keen to give a reply to the high commision. Hence, no one replied to them,” said a university clerk.
Earlier too, the university received complaints from various embassies and high commissions regarding fake marksheets and degrees issued in the name of Dr BR Ambedkar University but no action was taken.
Saraswat admitted that he had also received several complaints but was not aware of the action taken. “More than a dozen cases have been reported by the Australian high commission and American embassy where Indian students from Kerela, Andhra Pradesh and southern cities have applied for a visa on the basis of fake marksheets from Dr B R Ambedkar University,” added Saraswat.
The official said the rise in such cases shows that there is a big gang involved in making fake marksheets and it is ruining the image of the university. He suspected that some university employee could be involved in the racket.
Source: indiatimes
