More than 50 students have been conned into taking undergraduate exams by a city-based college which falsely claimed affiliation with Bangalore University (BU).

Aakash International Business Management College, Mallathahalli, not only admitted students to BCA, BCom and BBM distance education courses by falsely claiming affiliation with BU, but also issued them “hall tickets” to take the exams.

The students didn’t suspect anything until they checked the results. While students of other colleges got their results and marks sheets, they did not. They tried to seek an explanation from the college, but there was no response. When they approached BU, the university disowned them.

Investigation then revealed that the college management had used the photocopied signature of Suresh Nadagowda, then registrar (evaluation) of BU, in the hall tickets it had issued to the students.

The irregularities didn’t end there. The college had even enrolled students who did not clear II PUC exams. It issued them fake II PUC marks cards to legitimise their undergraduate admission, said BU Registrar K N Ninge Gowda. The university called the college’s bluff at the time of online verification of the marks cards, Gowda added.

The college had previously sought permission from the university to offer distance education courses. But BU did not entertain the request and asked the college not to enrol students for any course.

A month ago, the students approached the jurisdictional Jnanabharathi police and filed a complaint against the college management. Police took up the case and summoned the university’s registrar (evaluation).

About two weeks ago, the university also lodged a cheating complaint against the college. Following the complaint, police have arrested Jaffer Sadiq, an employee at the college, and are hunting for 12 more suspects.

Police said the suspects had switched off their mobile phones and were using Facebook to communicate with each other. Police are trying to track them down using their IP addresses.

Gowda said 51 students of BCA, BCom and BBM courses had been transferred to other colleges.