SIT examining 150 bank a/cs of Manav Bharti University, Solan, owner, kin

Bhanu P Lohumi

Shimla, January 17

A Special investigation Team (SIT) of the CID, probing the Manav Bharti University (Solan) fake degree scam, is examining 150 bank accounts of chairman of the Manav Bharti Charitable Trust Rajkumar Rana, his relatives and members of the trust to check cash links with Madhav University, Rajasthan, a sister concern of the MBU.

The accounts are in six banks and the information has been shared with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the money laundering aspect, highly placed sources in the police said.

Meanwhile, the ED had issued a lookout notice for Rana, who is on bail, his wife and daughter and a letter had been sent to the Bureau of Immigration, sources said.

The police had probed the financial part, land procurement, digital evidences and inter-state links as well as identified fake degrees. The investigating agency had identified the properties of Rana, his wife Ashoni Kanwar, son Mandeep Rana, daughter Aaina Rana and employees Anupama Thakur (registrar) and Krishan Kumar (former registrar), worth Rs 440 crore in Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and the proceeds of the crime worth Rs 194 crore were attached, said DGP Sanjay Kundu.

The Income Tax Department has been urged to investigate the financial aspect of the crime. Degrees were sold in 13 states but the progress has been slow with regard to Madhav University from where the digital evidence of fake degrees, including blank copies, answer sheets, certificates of courses not offered by the university, was recovered in March 2020. It was up to the government to decide whether to hand over the case to the CBI, he added.

Ashoni and Aaina have been declared as proclaimed offenders by the court. The SIT has sought the extradition of the family members of Rana from Australia, and the reply of the Interpol is still awaited.

Degrees for Rs3 lakh each

• Fake degrees sold through agents in 13 states
• About 50,000 degrees are suspected to be fake
• Degrees were sold for Rs1 lakh to Rs3 lakh each
• 16 persons, including MBU owner Rajkumar Rana, held
• Wife and daughter of Rana have been declared as proclaimed offenders