Kanpur: Police on Thursday busted a fake degree racket spread across nine states and seized nearly 900 forged marksheets and documents linked to 14 universities, officials said here.
Four persons have also been arrested in connection with the crime.
Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal said the accused were running the operation from an office named Shail Group of Education here in Kidwai Nagar. The group allegedly provided academic certificates – from high school to professional courses such as B Tech, B Pharm and LLB – without candidates appearing in examinations.
Among the forged documents recovered were 357 fake degrees from Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University , the highest number linked to any single institution.
Police also seized forged certificates purportedly issued by the UP Board of Secondary Education and several private universities in Uttar Pradesh and other states.
According to the police, the alleged kingpin, Shailendra Kumar , an MSc graduate and mathematics teacher, initially helped students fill out private examination forms before expanding into the fake degree trade.
He allegedly built a network of university clerks and employees who supplied original marksheets and certificates on demand.
The syndicate charged ₹50,000 for high school and intermediate certificates, up to ₹75,000 for graduation degrees, ₹1.5 lakh for B Tech and LLB, and up to ₹2.5 lakh for B Pharm and D Pharm qualifications – all without examinations, Commissioner Lal told PTI.
Police officials said the accused also printed fake migration booklets of Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj University and prepared counterfeit seals of the deputy registrar , issuing around 80 forged migration certificates.
In some cases, marksheets were allegedly uploaded to university portals through insiders to make them appear genuine.
During the raid, police recovered hundreds of forged marksheets, degrees, grade sheets, provisional certificates, migration booklets and receipt books. Post-dated cheques worth ₹50–60 lakh were also seized, and bank accounts in SBI and ICICI Bank are under scrutiny, an official said.
Lal told reporters that Shailendra amassed properties worth crores of rupees through the racket, including an apartment in Saket Nagar, a flat in Panki, land in Ramaipur and Bidhnu, and a Kia Seltos car. The office itself was reportedly set up for ₹40 lakh.
Police also referred to the death of 45-year-old educational counsellor, Anand Srivastava, whose body was found in a hotel room in the Harbans Mohal area on February 19, 2025.
Officials said he was allegedly in contact with the syndicate and had facilitated marksheets from a university in Madhya Pradesh.
The police have identified at least 10 lawyers, including Naushad, who runs a renowned Manama hospital in Chamanganj, who allegedly obtained fake LLB degrees through the racket.
Their credentials are being verified, and further legal action may follow.
An FIR has been registered at Kidwai Nagar police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Efforts are on to trace other members of the network, including suspects based in Hyderabad, Ghaziabad and Chhatarpur.
“The probe is being expanded to identify university staff involved in the racket. Strict action will be taken against all those found complicit,” Commissioner Lal said.
