Delhi Police have busted a large scale fake degree racket and arrested five people from four different States for their alleged involvement in fabricating and distributing more than 5,000 academic certificates including fake and backdated degrees, mark sheets, and migration certificates of various universities, including Central universities across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tamil Nadu, police said on Friday.
“Some people with fake degrees are also currently working in Government sectors.” police said. The operation has led to the recovery of hundreds of counterfeit documents from multiple universities across India. “In addition, 20 mobile phones and six laptops were seized, which upon forensic inspection, revealed more than 5,000 to 5,500 soft copies of similar fake academic documents, including degrees in BA, BSc, BCom, BTech, BAMS, BEd, MBA and MA,” police said.
Police have also confirmed the involvement of University employees in providing the fraudsters with formats, templates or confidential academic records to help make academic documents.
“The degrees that we seized look so genuine that we do not believe one can create them without any involvement of the university itself. Additionally, while verifying the records of those who have obtained the degree, we found that some of those have their records in university as well, this can only be possible with the involvement of university administration. “ said Devesh Chandra Srivastava, Special Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch. “Twenty to 25 coaching centres are part of this well-organised network, which provides customised fake documents to students based on their needs.” He added.
“The accused were running a highly organised syndicate that operated through coaching centres and educational consultancies, primarily in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR),” Srivastava added.
The officer said that 228 forged mark sheets, 27 fake degree certificates and 20 counterfeit migration certificates purportedly issued by various universities across the country were recovered during the operation.
“The accused used to charge 1lakh to 1.5 lakh rupees per degree depending upon the university.” police said.
The operation was initiated after a team received credible information regarding certain institutions in Delhi and surrounding areas offering fake degrees in exchange for money, police said.
“Acting on this tip, a team first apprehended Vicky Harjani, the alleged kingpin of the racket and owner of Paramhans Vidyapeeth in Netaji Subhash Place (NSP). A search of his vehicle and office premises led to the recovery of 75 forged academic certificates linked to universities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu,” Srivastava said.
Harjani’s interrogation led police to four more alleged members of the syndicate, identified as Vivek Gupta, Satbir Singh, Narayan Jee, and Avnish Kansal, all of whom are proprietors of different education centres operating in Delhi, NCR, Rajasthan and other States, he added.
These centres offered tailor-made fake documents to students seeking backdated admission, migration or graduation documents for various academic and professional purposes, they said. “The accused promoted their illegal services using social media platforms and as well as through printed flyers distributed near coaching hubs and student-populated areas. The documents had an appearance close to genuine ones issued by universities,” said Srivastava.
They targeted students, who were looking for shortcuts to obtain degrees or those who had failed to complete their academic programmes but needed certificates to apply for jobs or higher education, he added.
The officer said their modus operandi was that once a student approached one of the centres or was contacted via telecallers or online advertisements, their academic and personal details were collected.
“These details were then forwarded to members of the network specialising in document fabrication. The syndicate would produce forged degrees that closely resembled genuine certificates issued by recognised universities,” he added.
The accused also used false names and identities to communicate with clients and evade the law. The money charged varied depending on the degree, university and urgency of delivery, police said.
Sharing the profile of the accused, the officer said that Vicky Harjani, the prime accused, studied till class X and ran Paramhans Vidyapeeth in NSP and Rohini. He employed several tele-callers to lure students with the promise of quick degrees.
Vivek Gupta, educated up to class 12, was running six to seven educational centres in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He was found to be a repeat offender and is wanted in a case registered against him at New Shimla Police Station in Himachal Pradesh, he added. The officer said that Satbir Singh, also a class 12 pass, ran the Gurukul Education Centre in Haryana’s Faridabad with a business partner.
Narayan Jee, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, was operating mainly in Bihar but had recently expanded his operations to Delhi and NCR, he added.
The officer further said that Avnish Kansal, a BTech graduate, was operating remotely and is currently lodged in a jail in Rajasthan’s Jaipur. Kansal has two previous cases of similar nature registered against him in Rajasthan, he added.