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Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Derecognise Hapur private varsity: DM to Education Dept
The Hapur district administration has asked the UP government to cancel the recognition of Monad University after the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police arrested the university's chairman and pro-vice chancellor for allegedly fabricating degrees and marksheets of various university courses and extorting money from students. Monad University, a private institution located in the Pilkhuwa area of Hapur, currently has around 4,500 students enrolled. As per the university's website, it was established under Act No 23 of 2010 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, which was published in the Official Gazette on October 12, 2010. The university received an authorization letter from the state government on January 11, 2011, following which it became operational. Monad University offers various courses, including pharmacy, engineering, management and law. In a letter to the Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Hapur District Magistrate Abhishek Pandey gave the details of the racket and the police investigation so far, while recommending derecognition of the university. On Sunday, the STF arrested 10 people, including the university's chairman Vijendra Singh Hooda, pro-vice chancellor Nitin Kumar Singh, and other staff members. The team also claimed to have seized 1,372 fake marksheets and degrees, along with 262 counterfeit provisional and migration certificates. All the 10 accused arrested in the case are in judicial custody. According to a senior police officer, the university administration, following the STF raids, had declared the campus closed until Wednesday. It is likely to reopen Thursday. Amid confusion among the students and the university staff, a senior district administration official clarified that the cancellation of the university's recognition would not affect the validity of degrees and marksheets issued so far. The official also assured that currently enrolled students should not panic, as efforts will be made to transfer them to other institutions, wherever possible, if the recognition is cancelled. The racket was busted after police arrested Sandeep, a Haryana resident and alleged member of the racket, following a complaint that fake degrees and marksheets for various courses from Monad University in Hapur were being prepared and sold. Police said Sandeep allegedly admitted that he printed counterfeit degrees and marksheets for several courses—such as BA, LLB, Pharmacy, and the instructions of university chairman Vijendra Singh Hooda. According to police, the accused claimed they charged students between Rs 50,000 and Rs four lakh per course, depending on the degree. An STF official said that during the investigation, it was found that the racket had been operating for the past two to three years, with fake degrees, marksheets, and other documents being sold in exchange for money. 'We are investigating the involvement of other individuals in the racket,' the official added.
Indian Express
18-05-2025
- Indian Express
UP: 1,372 fake degrees, mark sheets seized from Hapur private university, chairman, pro-chancellor held
The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) on Sunday claimed to have recovered 1,372 fake degrees and mark sheets from a private university in Hapur district and arrested 10 persons, including the institution's chairperson and pro-chancellor. They also seized 262 counterfeit provisional and migration certificates, 14 mobile phones and seven laptops, the STF said in a press statement. Besides university chairperson Vijendra Singh Hooda and pro-chancellor Nitin Kumar Singh, those arrested are varsity staffers Kamal Batra, Imran, Gaurav, Mukesh Thakur, Vipul Chaudhary and Abhishek Pandey, and one Sandeep Shehrawat and his associate Rajesh, officials said. The accused prepared counterfeit degrees and mark sheets for various courses, including BA, law, pharmacy and in lieu of money, they said. In the statement, the STF said that Hooda, also an accused in the infamous Bike Boat scam, an investment scheme running into Rs 15,000 crore, has nearly a hundred cases registered against him in several districts. He has been managing Monad University since 2022, it is learnt. The police said the action was taken after they received a complaint about fake degrees and mark sheets being prepared for various courses at the university. They first arrested Sandeep, a resident of Haryana and key member of the alleged forgery racket, near Monad University on Saturday. During questioning, Sandeep confessed that he printed counterfeit degrees and mark sheets on the directions of Hooda, the STF said. Then the STF team raided the university and arrested the other accused from the campus, the press statement said. In the statement, STF Additional Director General (ADG) Amitabh Yash said, 'In the course of investigation of an application, action was taken by the STF's Lucknow head office team at Monad University, Hapur on May 17. 'A large number of fake mark sheets, degrees etc. were recovered, in which about a dozen people were detained, which included the university chairperson and main accused Vijendra Singh Hooda', he said. The police said the accused charged the students between Rs 50,000 and Rs 400,000 for a degree, depending on the course. — with PTI
