Delhi Police bust fake degree syndicate

The Delhi Police have unearthed a fake educational degree racket with the arrest of two persons, including a woman, and the recovery of several forged certificates, officials said on Wednesday. The accused allegedly duped a Gurugram-based IT employee of Rs 1.55 lakh under the pretext of providing a reissued graduation degree.

According to the police, the victim, a contractual employee hoping to secure a permanent position in his company, approached the accused after being asked to furnish his formal graduation degree. Though he had a college marksheet, he lacked the actual degree certificate.

On a colleague’s recommendation, the victim contacted Kapil Jhakar (34), who promised to arrange the document. Jhakar initially demanded Rs 30,000, but over time extracted Rs 1.55 lakh from the complainant through multiple payments. Eventually, he sent an unsigned BA degree, which was flagged as invalid by the employer.

“When the victim raised concerns, Jhakar stopped responding and blocked his number in March,” said a senior police officer. A case was filed and Jhakar was tracked down and arrested from his native village in Bhiwani, Haryana.

His interrogation led to the arrest of his accomplice, Damini Sharma (33), from Delhi’s Karkardooma area. During the raid, the police seized four mobile phones, seven SIM cards and digital files containing hundreds of fake degrees allegedly generated or sourced from various universities.

“The duo was running a well-organised racket, selling forged degree certificates to unsuspecting individuals for large sums of money,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police. “We are currently investigating the extent of the syndicate, identifying other victims, and tracing any institutional links,” the DCP added.