Shimla, Sep 11(UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here on Friday said the state government has decided to constitute a 19-member team of Crime Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the alleged fake degree scam of Manav Bharati university where thousands of degrees were sold in return of money.
The team would be headed Additional Director General of Police N Venu Gopal and has been asked to expedite the investigations as the matter was of a grave concern, Mr Thakur said.
The chief minister also stated that central probe agencies---Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department--are also investigating the matter.
As per the chief minister, the alleged scam occurred between 2009 and 2020 and the university management made crores of money.
The assertion from Mr Thakur came when a query regarding the same was raised in the Assembly during the Question Hour by Congress member from Sujanpur, Rajinder Rana.
The chief minister said a Special Investigating Team (SIT) led by Superintendent of Police Solan was also probing the matter and has lodged three FIRs in PS Dharampur under Indian Penal Code section 420, 467, 471 and 120(B) and five people have been arrested so far.
Also, one of the owner of university Rajkumar Rana and Registrar K K Singh are also in judicial custody, he said.
Mr Thakur said the crime was grave as even degrees of courses not conducted by the university were too allegedly sold.
The chief minister, targeting the opposition, said the alleged scam went unnoticed in the previous governments of Congress and discovered only when Bharaitya Janata Party came to power.
Responding to the charges, Mr Rana of Congress said firstly a matriculated person who was having a diploma in Lab Technician secured PhD in two subjects and secondly he was allowed to open the university in 2008-2009 when the BJP government was in the power.
He also pointed that instead of 30 bighas of land required for an university as per the rules, 50 bighas were allotted and no documents were verified.
The state government and university management were hand-in-glove, the Congress member alleged.
The members demanded that the probe should be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation as degrees were also sold to international students.
UNI ML PS 1433