NEW DELHI: A Special Court in Shimla has declared Ashoni Kanwar and her son Mandeep Rana as fugitive economic offenders in connection with a massive fake degree racket.
The racket allegedly generated proceeds worth Rs 387 crore through the sale of fraudulent certificates issued in the name of Manav Bharti University in Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
They were declared fugitive economic offenders as per the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, (FEOA) 2018 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached the court on January 3.
The agency had initiated investigation on the basis of three FIRs registered by Dharampur Police Station in Solan under various sections of IPC, 1860.
“During the probe, it was found that the accused Raj Kumar Rana with the help of his other co-accused including his wife Ashoni Kanwar and son Mandeep Rana sold fake degrees in lieu of money from agents and students,” an official said.
“The money obtained from this illegal activity was used by Raj Kumar Rana, Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana to acquire various movable and immovable assets across various states in their own names and in the names of other related entities,” the official stated.
The agency has attached assets amounting to Rs 200 crore till date, the official noted.
The agency had earlier filed a Prosecution Complaint against 14 persons and two entities including Raj Kumar Rana, Ashoni Kanwar, Mandeep Rana and others under PMLA.
The court took cognizance January 4, 2023, and issued summonses to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana, which were not complied by them.
Pursuant thereto, open ended Non Bailable Warrants were issued by the court on November 4, 2023 against Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana.
Further, during the course of investigation, the agency found that Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana had both fled the country after registration of FIRs against Manav Bharti University and presently residing in Australia.
“Both the persons were summoned to join the investigation but they never joined the investigation. Moreover, all out efforts were made to bring both the accused back to India to face the trial but both accused refused to return to India to face criminal prosecution,” the official said.