Fake educational certificates scam: Hyderabad police arrest V-C of Bhopal’s SRK University

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University management illegally issued educational certificates in return for money, say Hyderabad police.

The Hyderabad police Wednesday announced the arrest of the vice-chancellor (V-C) of Bhopal’s Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University (SRKU), along with a former vice-chancellor of the university, in connection with a fake educational certificates scam.

Earlier, in February, the city police had registered four cases against a few educational consultants and the management of SRK University for allegedly providing educational certificates illegally in return for money. The cases were booked at Malakpet, Asifnagar, Musheerabad, and Chaderghat police stations in Hyderabad and a special investigation team was constituted for the probe.

On Wednesday, A R Srinivas, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT), informed the media that Dr M Prashanth Pillai, the V-C of the university, and Dr S S Kushwaha, a former V-C of the university, have been arrested in connection with the case. He said that the management was found to have collected huge sums of money from the students and handed them degree certificates of BTech and BE courses, apart from degree certificates of MBA, BSc, BCom etc.

The probe found that SRKU management has issued a total of 101 fake educational certificates so far. Of them, the police have seized 44 certificates so far, the additional CP said, adding that 13 of them were BTech and BE certificates, whereas the rest were degrees of MBA, BSc etc.

The police have arrested 19 students and seven agents belonging to various educational consultancies in Hyderabad. The parents of six students have obtained anticipatory bail and the parents of another six students have been issued notices under Section 41A of CrPC.

“The in-charge vice-chancellor Dr Sunil Kapoor obtained anticipatory bail and one assistant professor by name Ketan Singh of SRK University was arrested in the case,” said the officer. The police are on the hunt for other students who obtained certificates illegally and officials who aided them. The police advised students against obtaining educational certificates fraudulently.