It was earlier reported that an Indian university, Manav Bharti University, has been caught by Indian authorities for selling 36,000 fake degrees across 17 states in India over a period of 11 years. The university is run by the Manav Bharti Charitable Trust.
The 36,000 fake degrees issued by Manav Bharti University was said to be only the tip of the iceberg.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India revealed that Raj Kumar Rana, chairman of Manav Bharti Charitable Trust who also runs Manav Bharti University, had been issuing the fake degrees since 2009. He proceeded to earn profits of Rs 387 crores (S$70 million) which was then invested in properties under his name as well as names of his other family members.
So far, only 14 out of a total of 55 hard disks seized from Rana have been scanned and analyzed by the investigative team. The number of unauthorised degrees issued from Manav Bharti University is expected to grow as the remaining 41 hard disks have yet to be processed.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party of India, the Congress Party, has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government is trying to hush-up the scam (‘Himachal Pradesh: Congress seeks CBI probe in fake degree scam‘, 4 Feb).
It alleged that the state government led by Modi’s party is trying to cover up the matter so that “its own people could be saved” and that the probe kept under wraps. It further alleged that the probe would be short so as to prevent names of “certain politicians” whose wards benefited from the scam cropping up.
In 2008, Manav Bharti University was given permission by the state government to open under dubious circumstances, according to the Congress Party. It said that the varsity was allowed to open despite not meeting the prerequisites to operate. It called for the recognition of the university to be cancelled.
Netizens ask if Ministry of Manpower can look into matter
It was also reported that some of the graduates from Manav Bharti University have already been working in Singapore, according to checks on LinkedIn – a social media website for professionals (‘Indian university caught selling 36,000 fake degrees has graduates working in Singapore‘, 16 Feb).
Some netizens have also posted the coverage of the story on the Facebook page of Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, asking her to look into the matter:
But so far, Ms Teo has not made any comments with regard to the authenticity of the degrees from Manav Bharti University submitted by foreign work pass holders to her ministry.
