Rot within? DU officials under lens

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Police have identified a total of 33 cases in the past three years in which fake SC/ST certificates were used to obtain admission to Delhi University colleges. In addition to recovering 12 fake certificates used to obtain admission to Delhi University colleges in 2010 and 2009, the police also seized two more laptops — belonging to mastermind Himanshu Gupta and his associate, Vikas Khanna. An official of Delhi University's SC/ST cell was questioned on Monday and sources said that at least two other officials are under the scanner.

"We have now recovered the fake certificates used to admit one student each at Hindu College and Kirori Mal College, two at Hans Raj College and four at Bhagat Singh College in 2010. We learned that in 2009 Gupta got four students admitted to the College of Vocational Studies using fake certificates. Gupta has revealed that he got 25 admissions done this year under the SC quota of which we have been able to identify 13. Eight forms are still pending with the SC/ST cell of DU and are yet to reach the colleges. We are confident that other admissions facilitated by Gupta in 2008 will come to light,'' said Ashok Chand, DCP (crime).

The university has informed police that it took departmental action against 80 students last year for providing fake certificates. However, it has not been able to give a satisfactory response as to why it did not lodge any complaint. Crime branch officials carried out raids at Pilkhua but failed to nab Sushil, the Ghaziabad tehsildar who is a suspect in the case.

An employee of the varsity's SC/ST cell was questioned all through Monday. "We have asked him to come back for questioning on Tuesday. So far, we are not satisfied with his answers,'' said a source in the inter-state cell, adding that investigations have revealed that the peon (name withheld) might have helped students gain admissions. "Two more persons, in a more senior position, are also under the scanner,'' said the source.

Crime branch sources confirmed that the tehsildars of both Hauz Khas and Ghaziabad will be questioned. "All the forms are numbered. The tehsildar should have verified why all of a sudden so many people are applying for SC status. We will investigate whether there was any negligence on their part,'' added the source. Sources said that Gupta and his associate, Ketan, who worked in the tehsildar's office, "forged the signature of the tehsildar on their own accord".

A team led by ACP Rajender Bakshi also recovered two laptops. "One laptop belongs to Gupta and the other one was used by Vikas Khanna, his associate. We have also sealed their consultancy office at Mehrauli,'' said Chand.

Sources also confirmed that four of the 13 parents caught red-handed have been also been questioned. "They are in remand till Wednesday. We are now recovering as much evidence as possible so that the accused can be confronted,'' said an officer.

DCP Chand added that since the applications bear the students' signatures, they cannot escape by pleading ignorance. "We have even come across cases where the student lives in Vasant Vihar whereas the caste certificate mentions the home address as Lado Sarai,'' said Chand.

Gupta and his associates were arrested by the crime branch on Thursday. Officials claim most of the candidates had approached Gupta through somebody known to him, as he guaranteed admission. In the current admission season, he had so far got 25 students registered — 21 under SC/ST category and four under OBC category. "He claims he had a target of 35 students this year although a lot of people had approached him," said a source.

Chand said, "Himanshu, Vikas and Ketan worked in coordination and completed the formalities of making fake certificates through the Hauz Khas tehsildar office in time so that the parents of the students were satisfied. Gupta remained in touch with the parents over the phone and accompanied the candidates to the colleges personally once their documentation had been completed and they had paid him a token amount." A source claimed that "Gupta never forced the parents of any candidate to pay the entire amount at one go. They were told they could pay the rest of the money when their child started attending classes in DU". Gupta said he preferred to receive all payment in cash.

Police found two more laptops belonging to Himanshu Gupta (left) and his associate, Vikas Khanna. However, Sushil, the Ghaziabad tehsildar who is also a suspect, is yet to be traced.

Times of India

Rot within? DU officials under lens

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