Persons from William Carey University Involved in the Fake Degree Scam
Based on the documents you shared (which appear to be a collection of RTI responses, the original FIR No. 60/2018 from Laitumkhrah Police Station, Shillong, investigation reports, charge sheets, and court memos from 2018–2023), the key individuals directly affiliated with William Carey University (WCU), Shillong who were implicated in the fake degree and marksheet racket are the two main accused. This scam involved issuing forged BA, MA, BSW, MSW, B.Ed, and Ph.D. certificates without proper classes or exams, targeting students from states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana.
I’ll break it down simply: who they were, their roles, what happened to them, and any additional context from reliable sources. The fraud was proven by police raids that recovered blank marksheets, pre-filled fake forms, stamps, and polythene bags of documents from the university’s premises.
1. Dr. Shri Luxdeep Sawhney (Main Accused / Owner/Director)
- Background and Role:
- Age: 35 years (as of 2018).
- Nationality: Indian.
- Occupation: Part-time laborer (but operated as the primary owner/director of WCU’s operations).
- Address: H.No. 116B/11, Ward No. 24, Ravi Das Mandir Wali Gali, Rania Road, Sirsa, Haryana.
- Involvement: He was the mastermind behind the racket. Operating from Delhi and Punjab, he ran WCU’s “Shillong branch” as a front for selling fake degrees for ₹30,000–₹50,000 each. Police statements (u/s 161 CrPC) from him and others confirm he managed the issuance of fake marksheets and certificates, using agents to recruit students. During raids, his office in Umkhriah, Nongmynsong, Shillong, yielded seized fake documents.
- Religion: Not specified in docs, but personal details were verified by police.
- Legal Outcome:
- Arrested under IPC Sections 120B (conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 468/471 (forgery), and 34 (common intention), plus IT Act provisions for cyber fraud.
- Charge sheet filed in 2018; case investigated as “true” (fraud proven).
- Discharged from liabilities in 2023 (court memo dated 16/11/2023) because the complainant (GL Mawlong) had no objection and withdrew pursuit—likely due to a private settlement. No conviction or punishment recorded.
- Additional Context:
- External reports link him to broader networks; for example, in 2020, a related fake marksheet probe in Vadodara, Gujarat, traced operations back to WCU affiliates like him. He was described as the “kingpin” in some investigations.
2. Shri Shankar Thapa (Local Manager / Co-Accused)
- Background and Role:
- Age: 44 years (as of 2018).
- Nationality: Indian.
- Occupation: Manager at WCU, Shillong branch.
- Address: Umkhriah, Nongmynsong, Shillong, Meghalaya.
- Involvement: As the on-ground manager, he handled daily operations at the Shillong office, including processing fake forms, verifying bogus details on the university website, and coordinating with agents. His u/s 161 CrPC statement admitted to assisting in document forgery for students from various states. Raids at his office recovered 12+ lists of seized fake marksheets and forms dated July 2018.
- Religion: Hindu.
- Legal Outcome:
- Same charges as Sawhney: IPC 120B, 420, 468/471, 34, and IT Act.
- Not formally arrested but summoned; charge sheet filed.
- Discharged in 2023 alongside Sawhney, per the same court order, due to complainant’s non-objection.
- Additional Context:
- Police reports note he was supervised by Sawhney and involved in “cyber elements” like entering fake data online. Broader scams (e.g., in Hyderabad, 2019) mention WCU managers like him supplying certificates via WhatsApp.
Key Notes on the Involvement
- How They Were Linked to the University: Both were directly tied to WCU’s Shillong operations—Sawhney as the external director/owner pulling strings from Haryana/Delhi, and Thapa as the local manager. The FIR (dated 05/07/2018) and investigation reports describe the “institute” (WCU) as the hub, with seized items from their premises proving organized forgery.
- No Other University Staff Named: The documents focus on these two as the primary perpetrators. Witness statements from WCU students and staff (e.g., Smt. Moushami Paul, Shri Rupert Lyngdoh) portray them as rogue operators exploiting the university’s name, but no broader staff involvement is detailed. However, later reports (2022) mention other WCU affiliates like Vijay Agarwal and Jitendra Sharma in a Uttarakhand bust, suggesting the racket extended beyond these two.
- Scale of Involvement: Over 100 fake documents were seized, affecting hundreds of students. The scam ran from at least 2017–2018, with WCU’s website used to legitimize fakes.
- University’s Stance: In 2022, WCU issued a public clarification denying employee involvement and claiming it fights such “vicious attacks.” But the 2018 police probe treated the Shillong branch as complicit.
