Uttarakhand: 5 held over fake domicile, caste certificates for medical admissions

Five people were arrested for allegedly preparing fake domicile and caste certificates and using them to secure admission to medical colleges in Uttarakhand, police said.

Among those arrested is the chairman of Barkhera Nagar Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, who allegedly obtained fake documents for his son.

“During questioning of the accused, some more names have come to light and the probe is underway,” circle officer of Bazpur Akhilesh Kumar said.

Following an administrative inquiry, revenue officer of Rainta Ajmal Khan lodged a complaint against nine people at the Bazpur police station on Thursday.

In his complaint, Khan said that during verification of documents submitted by students studying at various medical colleges in the state, it was found that some had secured admission using allegedly fake domicile and caste certificates.

The accused allegedly used forged documents, including electricity bills, Aadhaar cards, ration cards, transfer certificates and land records. The inquiry found that the documents had not been issued by the concerned departments, according to the complaint.

Police registered an FIR against Mohmmad Alam from Shivpuri, Shyam Bihari Bhojwal from Barkhera, Shivam Mathur from Bareilly; Archana from Bazpur’s Mundiakalan, Rohit from Bazpur’s Harlalpur village; Ria Singh and Diksha from Bazpur’s Renta village, and Anurag Bhojwal of Mundiakalan village, Bazpur, along with his son [name not available].

Police said Alam was allegedly acting as a broker and had received ₹5,000 for preparing fake documents for Diksha and Chitra. Shyam Bihari Bhojwal, the father of Anurag Bhojwal, said that Shivam, Rohit and Archana had helped him obtain fake certificates for his son Anurag.

Following verification, the administration cancelled the documents of Chitra, Anurag, Ria and Diksha with immediate effect, officials said.

“We received letter for verification from the district administration and conducted probe. Verification of four persons was carried out. During verification we found a man had got admission in the government medical college in Haldwani and another was in the government medical college in Srinagar Garhwal. Two women were in other medical colleges and their fake documents have been cancelled,” Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bazpur Richa Singh said.

The accused were booked under Sections 3(5) (common intention), 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forged document used for cheating), 338 (forgery) and 340 (using a fake or forged document) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to police officers.

Police arrested Anurag Bhojwal, Alam, Shivam, Rohit and Archana on Wednesday evening. They were produced before a court and sent to jail.