Lucknow University marksheet racket unveils property scam

LUCKNOW: Police on Tuesday recovered fake stamp papers worth Rs 10 lakh and 20 fake PAN cards from the office of the prime accused in the marksheet racket.

Police now suspect that the accused, Kirodhan Prasad, was also involved in a property scam.

On April 17, Prasad, a former LU employee, along with a serving LU employee and four others, was arrested for running a racket of forging marksheets and degrees of various universities across India.

On Tuesday, the investigators sealed the Jankipuram office of the gang and seized the fake stamp papers PAN cards. Ten of the cards were issued in Prasad's name, while 10 others belonged to other members of the gang. The team also recovered scanners.

"During investigation, the police recovered 150 fake stamp papers. Officers in the treasury who verified them said the signature of the notary and the seal insignia were not original. It seems the stamp papers were used by Prasad in transfer of property or to strike new deals using forged documents. However, it was yet to be established," said Amit Kumar, SP (Trans-Gomti).

"We are also questioning Prasad about where he used to get the fake stamp papers manufactured from," he added.

The police are also conducting an inquiry in the registry office about deals done by Prasad.

Meanwhile, investigation has revealed that Prasad used several fake PAN cards to evade the attention of agencies on the transactions of large sums of money.

"Prasad used to ask his clients to transfer money directly into his account. He would then distribute it among other gang members. He has never filed an income tax return after being sacked from LU," added an official.

The police are also looking into details of Prasad's family over the past eight years.