The Delhi Police smashed an online degree racket by arresting two accused and recovering hundreds of fake degrees from their possession, it said on Wednesday.
The arrested accused, identified as Kapil Jhakar (32) and Damini Sharma (33), defrauded a victim of over Rs 155,000 on the pretext of reissuing original degree, according to the police.
“The incident came to light in March when a complainant, working as a contractual employee at an IT firm in Gurugram, under consideration for permanent employment, had a marksheet but no graduation degree,” said Nidhin Valsan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).
The officer added that his manager referred him to Kapil Jhakar, who claimed to help obtain the degree. Jhakar took multiple payments totaling Rs 155,874 on various pretexts but ultimately provided an unsigned, invalid degree from Manav Bharti University. The firm rejected it, and eventually the accused blocked the victim on March 20.
With this information, an FIR was filed against the accused and an investigation was taken up by a police team to nab him.
During the investigation, it was found that the accused had changed his mobile phone and shifted his base. However, with detailed technical surveillance, Jhakar was arrested in Bohal village in Bhiwani, Haryana.
The accused was thoroughly interrogated about the scam and the source of the fake degrees. The police also confiscated his mobile phone in the case for forensic analysis, added the DCP.
Further investigation revealed the involvement of a woman in this case. With this lead, the team conducted a raid, arresting Damini Sharma, from the Karkardooma area.
Moreover, three mobile phones and five SIM cards were recovered from her and seized in the case along with hundreds of fake degrees, Valsan mentioned further.
Accordingly, a case has been registered against both the accused individuals under the relevant sections of the BNS; further probe is ongoing to unearth clues regarding this case, the DCP stated.