Seven of fake degree gang on police radar | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Police crackdown on a major fake marksheet and degree racket operating in state capital widened, with seven more suspected members of the gang coming under police radar, officials said on Wednesday. Investigators believe network has deep links with universities across the country and added that some names of those who took jobs using the degrees cropped up too. Police detained two youths for questioning, while police teams are scrutinising background and financial trails of the accused, expanding the probe beyond UP.
Three key members sent to jail on Saturday by Gomtinagar police were identified as Satyendra Dwivedi (32), resident of Kalandar, Ayodhya; Akhilesh Kumar (44) from Bighapur in Unnao and Saurabh Sharma (35) from Eesanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri. Police recovered 923 forged marksheets and degrees belonging to 25 different universities. Interrogation revealed most of the fake documents were purchased to secure jobs in private sector.Police said the gang was active since 2021 and has so far sold 1,500 forged marksheets and degrees, for huge price, generating nearly Rs 15 crore. Based on disclosures made by three accused arrested, police picked up two suspects for questioning, who name seven other gang members, allegedly linked to seven different universities.Investigators said the gang supplied forged documents for a wide range of courses, including BTech (engineering), BCA, MCA, MSc, BA and other undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Fake documents were issued in the names of reputed universities such as Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, North East Christian University, Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University, Kalinga University, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University and Sabarmati University.Police suspect insider role as preparing authentic-looking marksheets and degrees would require access to internal systems, formats, or seals. Surveillance teams have also been roped in to track digital footprints and identify other associates in the network, said DCP East, Shashank Singh.
