Manav Bharti Fake Degree Scam: ED Seizes Assets Worth ₹220 Cr, But HP Regulatory Commission and UGC Still in Deep Slumber
SHIMLA, July 15, 2025 –
Even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) tightens the noose around the fake degree racket linked to Manav Bharti University (MBU), Solan — seizing assets worth over ₹220 crore across many states — the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission continues to drag its feet, failing to take concrete action against the institution at the heart of one of India’s biggest education scams.
In its latest move, the ED, Shimla, provisionally attached seven immovable properties worth ₹1.74 crore — located in Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana — belonging to three commission agents allegedly involved in selling fake degrees: Abhishek Gupta, Himanshu Sharma, and Ajay Kumar.
These properties have been tagged as “Proceeds of Crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
With this, the total value of assets attached in the MBU scam has touched ₹202 crore, yet shockingly, no punitive action has been initiated by the state regulatory commission against the university or its management.
THE ED took action after the Police lodged three FIRs at Dharampur police station Solan against MBU Chairperson Rana after the fake degree scam came to light few years ago.
But UGC and state regulatory commission remain inactive and have not taken action by way of derecognition of the university playing with the future of its students, comment the education experts.
The university is set up under the State Act.
No one knows who were the degrees receivers? Whether the fake degree holders got any jobs ? The regulator has yet to sort out the mess.
This inaction has triggered massive outrage among education activists and whistleblowers, who question why the state watchdog remains toothless in the face of a national-level scam that has tarnished Himachal Pradesh’s reputation.
“This isn’t just a fraud; it’s an institutional failure of regulation and accountability,” said a retired education officer, calling the silence of the commission “complicit at worst, complacent at best.”
The scam, in which over 36,000 fake degrees were allegedly sold across India and abroad by Manav Bharti University, came to light in 2020.
ED’s investigations have since exposed a deep nexus of agents and shell operations funneling massive profits from fake educational credentials — all under the nose of regulatory authorities.
Despite the scale and seriousness of the case, the HP Private Institutions Regulatory Commission has neither recommended derecognition of MBU nor initiated legal proceedings against its trustees, raising serious questions about the role and relevance of the body.
As ED’s crackdown continues, public pressure is mounting on the state government and the regulatory commission to wake up and act — before the credibility of the entire education system in Himachal takes a permanent hit.
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