Shillong, May 11 (IANS): The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday arrested another top official of Meghalaya's private CMJ University in connection with selling fake Ph.D. degrees, a CID official said.
"We have arrested Mrinal Kanti Deb, Registrar of the CMJ university in connection with the alleged issuance of fake Ph.D. degrees to students," BR Rana, Inspector General in-charge CID, told IANS.
Deb's arrest came a day after CID officials arrested the varsity Deputy Registrar Premlal Rai, who is now admitted in a government-run hospital on the advice of doctors.
"Both the university Registrar and Deputy Registrar have been arrested and booked on various charges, including fraud and cheating," Rana said.
The university was established in 2009 following a Bill passed by the Meghalaya Assembly, which became the CMJ University Act, 2009, after receiving the Governor's assent.
A lower court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail application moved by Deb and Rai.
University director Manjeet Kaur and human resource manager Juban Kharpuri had also applied for anticipatory bail, which was also rejected.
"We had also opposed the anticipatory bail application in view of the seriousness of the case. After hearing the matter, the court rejected the application," Public prosecutor IC Jha said.
The CID began investigating the functioning of the private university following a complaint by Governor RS Mooshahary, who is also the university's visitor.
Chandra Mohan Jha, chancellor of CMJ University, went into hiding after the Meghalaya Governor's Secretariat lodged a first information report (FIR) against the university for alleged lapses and fraud involving fake degrees for students.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary said the controversial CMJ University had also established centres in almost all districts of Uttar Pradesh.
The university has created a record of sorts by awarding Ph.D. degrees to 434 candidates in the 2012-13 academic year, and enrolled 490 students for the Ph.D. programme during 2012-2013, even as only 10 of its faculty members have doctorates.
"The university had opened up centres even in Uttar Pradesh... People from places like Andhra Pradesh have ostensibly received degrees from the university," Mooshahary told IANS.
He added: "There is also a possibility that this university has also set up centres in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and other States across the country and might have also issued fake Ph.D. degrees to students."
He said he has written to the University Grants Commission (UGC) urging it to put on its website that action has been ordered into the functioning of CMJ University.
The university has on its website announced that it offers Ph.D. in 79 subjects, which include agriculture, horticulture, engineering, forestry, fashion technology, insurance management, microbiology, nursing, peace studies, pollution control, physics, nanotechnology, police administration, Sanskrit, spots science, Urdu and yoga.