Accused in fake degree racket held

Tribune News Service

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Amritsar, October 11

The Vigilance Department has arrested the accused, who had been absconding, in a fake-degree racket case here today. The accused has been identified as Rajesh Gupta, the owner of the Sai Academy, and his son, Sidhant Gupta, both residents of Chand Kehra, Ahmedabad (Gujarat).

Ketan Baliram Patil, SSP, Vigilance, stated that Vigilance officials got a tip-off from reliable sources that the accused were hiding in Patiala and trying to flee from the state. Following the information, a Vigilance team led by Vikrant Salaria and Kuldip Singh raided the hideouts of the accused. The police arrested the accused, both father and son, from the parking of a hotel.

The Vigilance Bureau had busted an inter-state racket involved in disbursing fake degrees to students on October 7. The accused used to run an institute, Sai Academy, on Sultanwind Road.

The incident had come to light when a newly recruited constable, Amandeep Kaur, of Pandori Waraich village lost her job because she had a fake degree. She had got the job on compassionate grounds after her father died. The Vigilance team had carried out a raid at the academy and confiscated a large number of fake degrees of CMJ University, Meghalaya, which had been closed down in 2013. Besides, the Vigilance also found fake degrees of Nagaland University, North Orissa Agricultural and Technical University and Tamil Nadu University.