Fudged marksheets scam hits YCMOU Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University

PUNE: A huge scam related to manipulation of mark-sheets of the students of the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) has been exposed with a former employee of the city-based Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) being booked by the Nashik police in the case.
Preliminary inquiry conducted by the YCMOU, which has its headquarter at Nashik, has revealed as many as 55 cases in which. marks of the students were deliberately manipulated out of vested interests. These students were doing the BA, BCom, and MBA courses offered by the State open university.
An FIR has been registered against Lalit Mahalle, a project coordinator with the ‘digital university’ project of the MKCL by the police on September 11. YCMOU is one of the clients of the ‘digital university’ project of MKCL that facilitates comprehensive and integrated approach, towards eGovernance of the Universities.
Briefing about the time-line of the scam, YCMOU spokesperson said that university stumbled upon the manipulation, when a female student applied for duplicate mark-sheet during September last year. “While processing the application, our staff noticed that this girl’s mark-sheet had a mention of marks contrary to that of entries in our database. Following this, an in-house inquiry was set up,” he told Sakal Times on Saturday.
Incidentally, the YCMOU authorities came across two more similar cases after a gap of around month, following which they lodged a formal complaint with the police. Based on the finding of the in-house inquiry, YCMOU has lodged an FIR against the Mahalle.
Speaking to Sakal Times on Saturday, MKCL managing director Vivek Sawant said that Mahalle was no longer associated with his organisation and he had quit when the YCMOU’s inquiry started.
Sawant said that manipulation in the entries of the concerned YCMOU mark-sheets must have taken place with the support from the ‘insider’. “The software system we use for establishments like YCMOU is totally foolproof. The manipulation in entries within the mark-sheets could not have taken place without the support from the insider. The log-in details and password of insider must have been used by the accused,” he said.
YCMOU vice chancellor R Krishnakumar said he was waiting for the police to accomplish their inquiry and thereafter due course of action would be taken. “We will not spare anyone who is responsible for the scam. We will inflict action that would set a strong deterrent,” he told Sakal Times.