In guise of running ITI, couple issues fake marks cards to 500 college dropouts

A married couple running an educational institute in northern Bengaluru has been arrested for issuing fake marks cards and degree certificates of various universities to around 500 students.

Mukesh and Ruhi Uppal, originally from Punjab, have been running an ITI in Peenya's Uppal Towers under Sri Divya Jyothi Education Trust, T Dasarahalli. On Thursday, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) raided four places belonging to them, including their home, offices and the institute. The raids yielded around 200 photocopies of fake marks cards of three universities and documents of properties owned by the couple, a senior police officer said.

The CCB carried out the raids following a complaint by one of the students, Bharath, who said the couple had issued him a fake degree certificate. According to Bharath, he had approached the institute to enrol in a degree course offered by a foreign university. But the Uppals offered him degree certificates from Rabindranath Tagore University, Madhya Pradesh, Bangalore University and Kuvempu University. They demanded Rs 50,000 but eventually settled down for Rs 25,000. Bharath paid the money via UPI but got suspicious after checking the certificate. He informed his landlord, Shamsundar B K, who filed the police complaint on his behalf.

The CCB has found that although the couple claimed to be running only an ITI, they offered admission to various undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including BCom, BTech, MSc and MTech. They especially targeted students who failed the PUC (class 12) exams or dropped out. They offered direct admission to final-year degree courses and issued the certificate within four months without any exam. Each student was charged between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh.

A court has remanded the couple in 10 days' police custody for further questioning. The CCB said it would trace all those who got degree certificates through the institute. The seized photocopies are of fake marks cards already issued to the students, the CCB added.