SPPU suspends employee for 'selling' forged degree certificate, marksheet

PUNE: Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has approached police after an employee allegedly took money from a student and provided him with a fake B Com marksheet and degree certificate, officials said on Wednesday. It received a complaint that Ramesh Mukhekar, who works in the accounts department, allegedly accepted Rs 70,000 from a student, promising to obtain a genuine degree certificate and marksheet for him, the university said in a statement.

Mukhekar allegedly sent the student images of documents on WhatsApp. They appeared to be original, but were actually fabricated documents.

"The employee is not attached to the university's Examination Department. The documents prepared and shared by him on WhatsApp do not match the official records of the Examination Department," the university said.

Taking serious note of the matter, the university suspended Mukhekar with immediate effect. Considering the gravity of the case, Dr Rajendra Talware, Director of the Board of Examinations and Evaluation, has filed a formal complaint application with Chaturshringi police station, the varsity said.

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Strict action against individual involved

"Strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in the offence during the police investigation," the statement said. It did not specify if the student will face any action. Preliminary findings indicated that Mukhekar allegedly created the fake documents using his knowledge of the university's examination system, the varsity said.

"It will be established during the police investigation whether any other person or systemic involvement exists in the matter," the officials said. The university also appealed to students and parents not to believe rumours regarding the authenticity of its examination documents, saying its marksheets and degree certificates incorporate high-level security features designed to prevent forgery.