Ponnani Police bust major fake certificate racket; 10 people arrested, counterfeit seals seized

PONNANI: Ponnani Police have busted a 10-member interstate racket that was manufacturing fake certificates and seized nearly a hundred counterfeit seals of universities from across the country. The printing of these certificates was centred in Pollachi. From there, the police recovered more than one lakh certificates stamped with different university seals. They also seized seals of vice-chancellors, advanced computers, and printers.

Those arrested include the gang leader, Dhaneesh Dharman (38) of Meenadathur, Tirur; Irshad (39) of Nariparambu, Ponnani; Rahul (30) of Purathur, Tirur; Abdul Nisar (31) of Payyanangadi; Thiruvananthapuram Nedumangad natives Jaseem, Ratheesh (37), Shafeek (37); and Tamil Nadu natives Jamaluddin (40), Aravind Kumar (24), and Venkitesh (24).

Acting on a tip-off received by the District Police Chief, police conducted a search on November 11 at the foreign education recruiting agency run by Irshad in Chamravattom. They found around 100 fake certificates and mark lists sent via courier. Based on this, they arrested Jaseem, Ratheesh, and Shafeek, who had sent the parcels, and Rahul and Abdul Nisar, who distributed the certificates. After receiving details about the Pollachi centre, a police team reached the spot and questioned the workers, which led the investigation to the gang leader, Dhaneesh. He was arrested at Kunnamangalam while attempting to flee abroad with his family. Dhaneesh had earlier been arrested by the Kalpakanchery Police in 2013 for producing fake certificates.

Fake certificates cost up to Rs 1.5 lakh The gang charges between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh for each fake certificate. The main accused, Dhaneesh, owns a luxury house worth crores in Tirur, two five-star bars and apartments in Pune, and business establishments and apartments worth crores in the Gulf. Among agents, he was known by the fake name "Dani." All the accused were produced before the Ponnani court and remanded to the sub-jail.