Over 43,000 fake degrees issued by a Rajasthan University, many degree holders in secured govt jobs, probe launched 

In a shocking revelation, a private university based in Churu, Rajasthan, known as Om Prakash Jogender Singh (OPJS) University, has been charged with issuing a shocking total of 43,409 fake degrees since its establishment in 2013.

These forged certificates were distributed across 19 states within India, including Rajasthan, as well as in the neighbouring country of Nepal, as confirmed by an official from the state's special operation group investigating the matter.

The Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of SOG, VK Singh, disclosed, "Shockingly, many individuals holding these fake degrees have managed to secure employment in governmental positions within the respective states and country, all based on fraudulent credentials," Hindustan Times reported.

Law enforcement authorities took swift action in response to these fake degrees, leading to the arrest of the university's owner, Jogender Singh Dalal, in addition to the former chairperson, Sarita Karwasra, and former registrar, Jitendra Yadav, who currently possesses ownership stakes in two other private universities located in Rajasthan and Gujarat. These individuals were arrested on July 5.

Despite the absence of detailed breakdowns concerning the distribution of the counterfeit degrees per state, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the SOG, Paris Deshmukh, revealed that a substantial portion of the forged certificates were sent to individuals in prominent states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

Furthermore, a considerable number of fake degrees were also conferred to students in Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Nepal.

The unravelling of this intricate scheme began when approximately 1,300 applicants undergoing a verification process for the Physical Training Instructor (PTI) exam in 2022 were found to have counterfeit degrees issued by OPJS University. This discovery prompted a surge in complaints against the institution through the SOG helpline, sparking a comprehensive investigation into the university's illicit operations.

The probe unveiled a pattern of malpractice within OPJS University, as evidenced by the unauthorised issuance of degrees for courses outside their accreditation purview, manipulation of issuance dates, and falsification of academic offerings on their official platforms.

Malpractices were even noticed in the allocation of degrees for engineering, education, medical, arts, and pharmacy courses, with the university flouting prescribed enrollment quotas and fabricating qualifications beyond their institutional scope.

Detailed revelations from the investigation shed light on a network of middlemen operating on behalf of OPJS University across the country, orchestrating transactions that ranged from ₹50,000 to ₹800,000 per candidate in exchange for fraudulent degrees.