Students with fake degrees bound for US/UK caught at airport
What's the story
The Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has busted a major racket involving students using fake academic documents to secure student visas for the US and UK. In the last two weeks, four individuals were caught trying to leave India despite passing formal visa interviews at embassies. The arrests were made during routine document checks before departure.
1st case
1st case on June 1
The first case was reported on June 1 when BOI officials detained 28-year-old Pakeeru Gopal Reddy from Nalgonda, Telangana. He had returned from the US after studying at Webster University, Missouri, for 15 months. In May 2024, he attempted to return but was deported from Dallas due to an inactive SEVIS record. Upon arriving in Hyderabad, the BOI found he had used a fake BSc degree from Madurai Kamaraj University. Gopal confessed to obtaining it from an agent named Ashok.
Fraud details
2nd arrest on June 9
On June 9, BOI officials arrested Hyderabad's 26-year-old Mohammad Shahabazuddin. He was found with a fake BCom degree from Acharya Nagarjuna University, a forged Intermediate certificate from 2017, and fake BTech documents from two engineering colleges in Hyderabad. Shahabazuddin confessed to buying the SSC certificate for ₹1.5 lakh from an agent named Yakub and creating the rest using software.
Attempt thwarted
3rd case on June 10
On June 10, 25-year-old Mohammad Azhar Hussain from Miryalaguda, Telangana, was caught while trying to board a UK-bound flight via Dubai. He had a fake degree from Capital University, Jharkhand and a forged job letter arranged by an agent named Bharat from Emerge Migration Overseas Educational Consultancy. BOI lodged a complaint against him and he was remanded to custody.
Final arrest
4th arrest on June 12
On June 12, Srikanth Marthala, a 26-year-old from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, was detained with a fake BTech degree from Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation. He confessed to paying ₹40,000 to an agent named Mohan Krishna for the certificate. The BOI has registered a case against him as well, and he too has been taken into judicial custody.