Ankiv Baisoya (left) claimed he completed his BA from Thiruvalluvar University. (File)
A letter written by the Registrar of Thiruvalluvar University to the Tamil Nadu Department of Higher Education has stated that Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) president and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member Ankiv Baisoya was neither enrolled in the university nor in any of its constituent or affiliated colleges.
A senior official at the state higher education department confirmed that they had received the letter and that the undergraduate certificates submitted by Baisoya to Delhi University were fake. The letter dated October 3, 2018 — a copy of which was also shared by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) — says, “I hereby submit that Mr Ankiv Baisoya has not enrolled either in our university or in any of our Constituent or Affiliated Colleges and is not our student at all. The certificate he has produced is fake and not from our university. The Controller of Examination has issued a letter stating that the certificate is not genuine after official verification of records of the Controller of Examination office.”
Baisoya was elected DUSU president last month. He secured admission in MA Buddhist Studies in July this year and submitted Bachelor of Arts marksheets from Thiruvalluvar University as his qualifying certificates. Speaking to reporters last month, Baisoya had claimed that he studied “skill-based” courses in college. He was also unable to recall the names of teachers from the university. He could not be contacted on Thursday, despite repeated attempts.
After his election, the NSUI had alleged that his claims of having graduated from Thiruvalluvar University were false and that he had submitted fake certificates to secure admission in DU. DU wrote to Thiruvalluvar University last week, asking them to check if the allegations were correct.
According to rules, DU will have to file a police complaint against Baisoya for producing a forged degree.
DU Registrar Tarun Das and head of the Buddhist Studies department KTS Sarao could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Sarao had earlier said that the university will take action against Baisoya if it is confirmed that his undergraduate degree was fake.
ABVP state secretary Bharat Khatana, meanwhile, said they will wait for the university to take action: “Who are we to take any action? It is for the university to do that. We will think about any action only after that. We have said since the beginning that all allegations must be probed. There are similar allegations against NSUI members as well. Why are people hurrying to take an action against Baisoya?”
DU has already registered a case of forgery against NSUI member Akshay Kumar for allegedly submitting a fake degree in January. Police are still probing the matter. NSUI, meanwhile, issued a statement demanding that their candidate Sunny Chhillar, who had secured the second highest number of votes in the polls, be declared DUSU president. It also demanded that Baisoya be arrested for misrepresentation and fraud.