Main accused held in Sirsa fake marksheet scam, sent to judicial custody

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Sirsa has arrested Vikas Sharma, the main accused in a multi-state fake marksheet scam that has already been exposed earlier. Sharma was taken into custody following a detailed investigation into the issuance of forged educational documents and has now been sent to judicial custody.

The case was initially registered on a complaint by Krishan Kumar, Secretary of the Haryana Board of School Education, Bhiwani. An FIR was lodged at the Sirsa city police station under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the IPC. Two other accused Sukhwinder Singh of Bhambur village and Sitaram Bhola of Hari Vishnu Colony, Sirsa, had already been arrested earlier in connection with the case.

According to ASI Abhay Ram, Vikas Sharma was serving as the General Secretary of the Rural Institute of Open Schooling (RIOS), Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, at the time of the fraud. He allegedly worked with institute operator Sitaram Bhola to issue at least 45 fake marksheets from Sirsa without obtaining any approval from the Education Department.

Investigators found that the forged documents contained the digital signatures of Farid Ahmed Safi, a former controller of examinations who had resigned from RIOS in July 2014. Additionally, several fake certificates falsely claimed affiliation with the Chhattisgarh Open School Board, Raipur, even though that recognition had been revoked in 2013.

Inspector Shyam Sunder, in-charge of the EOW Sirsa, confirmed the arrest and said Sharma was produced in court and sent to judicial custody.

Officials suspect that the scam may have affected students from different regions and are continuing further investigations to trace other individuals involved and those who may have benefited from the forged certificates.