Chandrapur: Police investigating a fake degree and academic certificate racket in Chandrapur suspect around 40 fake degrees may have been sold over the past eight years, with the actual number likely to be higher.Police sources said the alleged mastermind Parimal Baburao Gaurkar had been running the racket since 2018. He allegedly supplied fake degrees, marksheets, diplomas and migration certificates for Rs5 lakh to Rs10 lakh. Police are also verifying his own academic qualifications.Gaurkar was arrested from Nagpur on Friday along with alleged accomplice Akshay Khobragade, taking the number of arrests in the case to three. A court on Saturday remanded both in police custody for three days. Vaibhav Sonule, who was arrested earlier, was sent to judicial custody.Investigators are identifying those who obtained the forged credentials and probing their production, financial transactions and the total money generated by the racket. Police suspect the network may extend beyond Chandrapur and are looking into the involvement of others.They are also checking whether the fake credentials were used to secure jobs, college admissions or promotions.
