Kanpur: The SIT arrested another middleman linked to a fake degree gang operating across 14 universities in nine states.The accused, Shekhu alias Azharuddin Khan, allegedly got fake marksheets of Class X and Class XII made from Jamia Urdu Aligarh.SIT in-charge and ADCP South Yogesh Kumar said that during interrogation, the accused confessed to working for the mastermind. He also spilled the beans about Shoaib, a college contractual worker from Aligarh, who is on the run. SIT team said Shoaib’s arrest could reveal the college staff’s involvement.Shekhu disclosed that he would get marksheets made for Rs 12,000, then pay Rs 10,000 to Shoaib to process them, and pass them on to the gang kingpin. Investigation also revealed his link to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University, Bhopal. Though no incriminating documents were found, the university will be contacted to probe his involvement.On Feb 18, Kidwai Nagar police conducted a raid at the office of Shail Group of Education at Juhi Gaushala and seized over 1,000 marksheets and degrees of 14 universities across nine states, Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, Prayagraj, and Jamia Urdu College, Aligarh. These included degrees of BTech, MTech, BPharma, DPharma and LLB, along with high school and intermediate marksheets.Police had arrested four accused, gang mastermind Shailendra Kumar Ojha, Nagesh Mani Tripathi, Jogendra and Ashwani Kumar Singh. Later, they also nabbed Noida’s Vineet and sent all the accused to jail. During their interrogation, Shekhu’s role came to light.Kumar said that during the raid, 371 degrees of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University, Kanpur (CSJMU) were also found. During verification, 369 degrees were found genuine, while two were fake. One of them was a BA degree.
