Fake marks card racket busted; five arrested in Bengaluru

Police officials on Friday busted an inter-state group dealing with fake marks cards of several universities and colleges by arresting five people involved in the racket. Officials from the Central Crime Branch raided a consultancy firm located in Manipal Centre on MG Road and arrested Kunal Kumar Mondal (28). Based on information he provided, the police then arrested Deepenkar Sen, an employee of a private college in city, who in turn led the police to Saurabh Kumar Sharma, Sandesh Agarwal and a woman identified as Aruna. Inquiries revealed that the accused would contact students from across the country and promise them admission in professional colleges in the city. The accused would then forge marks cards of universities and colleges and also provide provisional certificates for a price ranging from ₹ 50,000 to ₹1 lakh. Many students have got admission in professional courses in and around the country using the fake marks cards, a senior police officer said. The police also raided the offices of the accused situated in Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi and found that they have as many as 180 touts who mediate between them and the students. The police have recovered 1.6 lakh fake certificates from their offices, belonging to prestigious colleges and universities. They seized computers printers and huge number of seals of universities and officials. The accused have been providing fake marks cards of universities such as Allahabad University, J&K State Board of School Education, Dr. MGR Medical University, Karnataka State Open University, Sambhalpur University, Board of Secondary Education AP, Thiruvalluvar University, Dr. C.V. Raman University, Gujarat State Examination Board, Manav Bharati University and universities of Himachal Pradesh, U.P., Rajasthan, Sikkim, Odisha among others. “They have been running the racket for the last two years and have printed and sold many certificates,” Deputy Commissioner of Police H.D. Anand Kumar said. “Investigations are on to track down the other accused.”