E-Paper
Four arrested for producing fake marksheets in B’luru
The officers seized 1,097 fake marksheets, 87 blank ones, 74 seals of different universities, five hard discs, five PhD transfer certificates, five mobile phones and a printer.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested four members of a gang and seized over 1,000 fake marksheets produced by an educational institution operating in the city.
Raids were conducted on the offices of Sri Venkateshwara Institute (VSS Institute of Educational Research and Charitable Trust) in Mahalakshmi Layout, Kodigehalli and Marathahalli. The officers seized 1,097 fake marksheets, 87 blank ones, 74 seals of different universities, five hard discs, five PhD transfer certificates, five mobile phones and a printer.
The arrested persons include director of the institute, Shilpa; employees Sharada and Kishore; and owner of the printing press, Rajanna.
The accused were running Venkateshwara Institute from two branches in Kodigehalli and Marathahalli for the past few years. Police have alleged that they used to forge marksheets and degree certificates of reputed colleges and universities from across the country and sell them to their clients.
Police came to know about this when a woman approached the institute seeking admission to BCom correspondence course in November first week.
“The staff asked her to pay ₹1 lakh as course fee and took an advance fee of ₹40,000. They assured to issue degree certificates without conducting classes or taking examinations. The candidate then received her two-year course completion certificates from a reputed college,” said a senior officer.
The staff then demanded the remaining amount to issue the final year’s certificate along with the convocation certificate. Following this, she approached the cyber crime police and filed a complaint.
Based on the complaint, police obtained court permission to carry out a raid and arrested the accused.
Police are investigating further to ascertain details of the beneficiaries and background of the accused.
