'Didn’t know only Universities do it': 75-year-old man held for duping people with fake honorary doctorates

Hyderabad: A case was registered against a 75-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh for allegedly duping seven persons by giving fake honorary doctorates, police said.

The accused, who runs a cultural organisation in Guntur district, presented "certificates of honorary doctorates" to the seven people at an event held in the city on Sunday, and these were not conferred by any university.

According to police, the accused, who had earlier felicitated people with awards through his organisation, had approached people by promising to present them with honorary doctorates, police said.

The complainant, a scholar, stated that he received a message from the accused through an instant messaging app inviting him to apply for the honorary doctorate.

The accused collected Rs 20,000 from the complainant as a "membership fee" towards the honorary doctorate, police said.

The complainant and six others were presented with certificates of honorary doctorates by the accused through his organisation.

Based on the complaint, a cheating case was registered against the man, a police official at Saifabad Police Station said.

The man claimed ignorance that honorary doctorates are to be conferred only by universities, police said, adding that further investigation is on.