Law degree of man associated with Lawrence Bishnoi gang cancelled
A university has cancelled the BA-LLB degree of a lawyer allegedly linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi after police found his Class 12 certificate was fake, officials said on Thursday.
Rajabpur police station registered an FIR against the lawyer for allegedly submitting forged documents and cheating, and sent a letter to the Bar Council seeking cancellation of his registration, Station House Officer Tej Pal Singh said.
According to the FIR lodged by Venkateshwara University administrative officer Arun Kumaron on September 28, Deepak Nanda, a resident of Paschim Vihar in Delhi, took admission to the university's BA-LLB course in 2019. Nanda submitted a Class 12 marksheet and certificate purportedly issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education.
He completed the course in 2024 and subsequently registered with the Bar Council to practise as an advocate, the FIR said.
Police said the matter came to light during a Delhi Crime Branch investigation into an alleged arms trafficking case involving Deepak Khatri alias Deepak Nanda.
On September 9, the Delhi Crime Branch sought Nanda's admission and educational records from the university and sent the documents for verification.
The Jammu and Kashmir Board informed the Crime Branch on September 19 that it couldn't find the certificate in its records and declared it fake. According to the complaint, Venkateshwara University learned of the development four days later. The university subsequently cancelled Nanda's degree and requested the Bar Council of India to cancel his registration.
Police said there were also allegations that Nanda represented gangster Bishnoi and provided legal services to members of his gang in different districts. These allegations are part of the ongoing investigation, they said.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 318(4) (cheating), 336 (forgery) and 340(2) (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
