DU admission racket had been on since 2008: Police

On Sunday,parents of four of the 13 students who had secured admission on the basis of fake caste certificates since 2008 were questioned by the Crime Branch. The parents told police that though they paid Rs 4 to 5 lakh for the admission,they were not aware that the accused were using fake certificates. Parents added that they were told that the admissions were being made under the “management quota”. No such quota exists in DU.

Police said the main accused,Himanshu Gupta (26),is a Third Officer in the Merchant Navy. He approached the prospective targets through advertisements in newspapers,bulk SMSes or by visiting various colleges during the admission season.

According to police,the certificates were made in Ghaziabad through one Satish who was posted in the Tehsildar’s office there. He is on the run.

Police said they will seize the eight forged caste certificates from the SC/ST cell of Delhi University on Monday. These were submitted to gain admission in colleges like Shri Ram College of Commerce,Hans Raj,Sri Venkateswara,Shaheed Bhagat Singh,etc. Most of the students who used these forged certificates had scored between 66 and 94 per cent in their Class XII Board examinations.

On Saturday,police also arrested Vikas Prakash,an accountant assistant,and Ketan Gupta,a data entry operator at the Tehsildar’s office in Mehrauli.

Police said main accused

Himanshu is a “glib talker” and he hit upon the racket idea after he noticed someone getting admission in a non-traditional way under the Sports quota.

“He thought that he could bypass the traditional way of admissions and studied the lacunae in the entire admission process to lure the students. He had been operating since 2008. We have information regarding the forgeries till that year,but we do not rule out his involvement in the admission process in years prior to that. He was charging Rs 4 to 5 lakh per admission. Most of the clients were from prominent schools in South Delhi,” said a senior police officer.

“We have concrete information that he spread this racket through his contacts in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College. It was here that he understood the entire admission process and cashed on the shortcomings,” he said.