A 28-year-old student from Telangana’s Nalgonda was apprehended at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) after being deported from the United States.
Based on his alleged admission to the immigration officials that he had used forged documents to secure a US visa, the managing director of an education consultancy firm in the city was arrested later.
The accused student, Pakeeru Gopal Reddy, was arrested on June 1 by the RGIA police.
According to the FIR, due to poor academic performance, Reddy had fraudulently obtained fake academic degree certificates through Dhanalaxmi Overseas Consultancy, located in B N Reddy Nagar, Hyderabad.
Based on his alleged confession, original passport, travel documents, and the forged degree certificates, the police arrested Katoju Ashok, 29, of Sri Dhanalakshmi Overseas Private Limited on Monday, June 2.
According to police, Reddy travelled to the US for a two-year master’s programme at Webster University, Missouri, about 17 months ago and returned to Hyderabad after a year.
“He completed one year of the course and came back and overstayed here for five months. When he returned to the US, the immigration officials checked the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), and it was found to be inactive. They deported him,” V Sreekanth Goud, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Shamshabad division, told indianexpress.com.
Story continues below this ad
According to the police, Reddy used fake degree certificates from Madurai Kamaraj University to get a US visa.
The immigration officials at the airport said that he allegedly confessed to using fraudulently obtained documents to travel to the US.
“We arrested Ashok and seized 150 forged mark statements, provisional certificates, and recommendation letters of Madurai Kamaraj University and Osmania University, Rs 10 lakh cash, etc. He has confessed to sending 15 students to the US in the last five years by charging around Rs 1 lakh,” a police officer said.
