Seven more arrests in UoP revaluation scam

PUNE: Seven more people, including four officials of the University of Pune (UoP) and three students, including two Omani nationals, were arrested on Saturday in connection with an alleged revaluation scam.
The officials are head of the examination department Rajendra Pandit (52) and the head, assistant head and senior clerk of the revaluation department Lalsingh Wasave (58), Surendra Naidu (53) and Nanda Pawar (52).
The students are Omani nationals Alamri Hamid (22) and Obed Ahmed Rehman (29), both residing at Kondhwa, and Mohsin Mehboob Shaikh (19) of Mangalwar Peth.
The seven suspects will be produced before a magisterial court on Sunday.
Earlier, the police had arrested Ashok Shankarrao Ranavde (44) and Ramesh Kisan Shelar (43) residing at the UoP's servant quarters and Chetan Gajanan Prabhune (38) of Nigdi, posted in the science, engineering and management departments, for allegedly increasing the marks of 21 students in 2012. They had been arrested after the Cantonment police uncovered an examination scam in one of the colleges in Pune Cantonment.
Assistant police inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi said the seven new arrests had been made after they received information from the employees who had been arrested earlier who had been interrogated on January 8.
According to Bolkotgi, the three employees had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with the UoP officials and misused their official position to increase the marks of 21 students, including the three arrested students.
One of the Omani nationals is a second-year commerce student while the other is a first-year commerce student, both from colleges in the Cantonment area, he added.
The Cantonment police had earlier given a report to the UoP, registering a complaint against its employees after the scam was busted by senior inspector Bhanupratap Barge and sub-inspector Ashwini Jagtap of the social security branch of crime branch.
The UoP had appointed a fact-finding committee, headed by retired assistant commissioner of police Sharad Awasthi, to conduct an inquiry in this regard. The UoP registered a case against its employees after they were indicted in the inquiry.
The Chatushrungi police had registered a complaint of alleged cheating and forgery against the suspects on December 17.