Four arrested for DU admission scam

Four people have been arrested for running a fake admission racket in colleges under Delhi University (DU), police said on Thursday.

Sunil Panwar alias Guruji, 41, Mohd. Zuber, 25, Parveen Kumar Jha, 35 and Ranchit Khurana alias Bunty, 30 were arrested from different places in the capital on Wednesday.

"Panwar and Zuber used to procure the candidates and then get in touch with Ranchit, who in turn used to obtain forged documents from Parveen Jha, who prepared them," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

Panwar, Zuber and Khurana were together in a car at the Malviya Nagar market at the time of their arrest. Jha was arrested later, based on their information, he said.

So far, 22 fake admissions have been detected in Hindu, Kirori Mal, Aurobindo (evening), Kamala Nehru, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Dyal Singh (evening and morning), PGDAV and Ram lal Anand colleges.

The modus operandi included preparation of forged documents like mark sheets, migration certificates, degrees, character certificates and caste certificates.

"Huge number of forged mark sheets, degrees, character certificates, computers, three printers and 40 stamps of different government universities, education boards and colleges, including signature seals of the authorised signatories, have also been seized from the possession of the accused," the official said.

Police said the accused also prepared fake degrees of various universities for candidates trying for jobs in the private sector.

"They also used to prepare other documents of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar boards. To evade detection of forged documents they even created fake websites of the Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar boards," Yadav said.

A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including forgery.

This academic year, the racketeers got more than 25 students admitted.

"Relevant documents of the students who are suspected to have secured admission on the basis of forged documents are being obtained from the concerned colleges and will be scrutinised," Yadav said.

"The racketeers used to charge Rs.3-7 lakh from prospective students for getting them admitted in a college and course of their choice," said the official.

The racketeers were involved in such acts since the last three years.

Hindu College principal Anju Srivastava told IANS that while there was no official communication with the authorised agencies, if proven, "most proactive action" would be taken against those securing admission through fake means.

"While legal action will be taken by police, we will take up the matter and most likely cancel the admission of the student. It is a great job done by police that they unearthed a racket which was beyond the scope of the colleges," she told IANS.

Dyal Singh College principal I.S. Bakshi agreed.

"We will definitely take action against those students who have secured admissions using unfair means. Their admissions will be immediately cancelled and we will also ask police to take requisite steps," Bakshi said.