The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has uncovered a massive fake degree racket operating out of Monad University, a private institution in Pilkhuwa, Hapur. On Sunday, the STF arrested 10 individuals associated with the university, including its Chairman Chaudhary Vijendra Singh Hooda and Pro-Chancellor Nitin Kumar Singh.
According to the STF, Vijendra Singh, previously accused in the infamous bike boat scam, had been running the fake degree operation through Monad University. Thousands of fake degrees were recovered during the raid.
The racket involved the production and sale of counterfeit degrees across various courses, including LLB, B Pharma, D Pharma, and B Tech. Authorities seized over 1,372 fake degrees and 262 fake provisional and migration certificates. Fake degrees were reportedly sold for amounts ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, often to secure private and government jobs.
In addition to the forged documents, the STF recovered several electronic devices and ₹6,54,800 in cash during the operation. The arrested individuals include Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, Chairman, Monad University; Nitin Kumar Singh Pro-Chancellor, Mukesh Thakur, Personal Assistant to the Chairman, Gaurav Sharma, Head, Verification Department, Imran, Director of Admissions, Anil Batra, Accountant, Vipul Talayan, Verification Department, Kuldeep, Sunny Kashyap, and Sandeep Kumar alias Sandeep Sehrawat, employees of the university.
The operation was initiated following a written complaint received by the UP STF Chief regarding the issuance of fake degrees. After several days of surveillance and intelligence gathering, the STF, in coordination with Hapur Police, conducted the raid on Sunday.
Notably, Vijendra Singh’s name had surfaced earlier in the 2019 bike boat scam, in which over 118 FIRs were registered across cities such as Lucknow, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Kanpur. The case was later handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the UP Police. Singh had reportedly fled to London during the initial phase of the investigation, but was granted bail in 2022.
Following his release, Meerut-based Singh allegedly founded Monad University in Pilkhuwa and began operating the fake degree racket. Authorities are now investigating the recipients of the fake degrees and the extent of their use in various sectors.