MADURAI: Several students and alumni from colleges affiliated with Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) were conned allegedly by unidentified persons who posed as the university's former deputy registrar (DR) to swindle money.
The New Indian Express accessed the letters, mobile call recordings, call history and Google pay details of students, who sought convocation certificates, consolidated mark sheets and others from the university through registered posts.
Speaking to TNIE, Abirami (name changed) from Hyderabad said, "I had completed my M.Sc. Mathematics degree through Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) in 2004. I applied for the original degree certificate on 9th September, 2021 along with the online payment of Rs 5,800 (including convocation fees and search fees). But I did not get any reply. Following this, I sent a letter through a registered post to MKU on 24 July, 2022."
She added, "Four days later, my husband received a call from a person, who said he was MKU DR Selvam and asked to pay Rs 9,287 online to his wife Anushiya Selvam for receiving the original certificate. Believing him, my husband paid the amount. The same day, Selvam called my husband several times, seeking Rs 2,800 extra. This created suspicions and we asked for payment receipts, after which his phone was switched off."
She further stated that she sent a complaint letter to the Registrar of MKU to take action against him and return the money that she paid.
Another student said he got a call from a person, who identified as Selvam, on 26th June, 2022. "He wanted me to transfer Rs 1,535 to Anushiya for the consolidated mark sheet. I paid through my father's Google pay account. When we contacted the Controller of Examination, there was no one working in the name of Selvam as the deputy registrar," he said.
Sources from MKU said there were a lot of complaints about Selvam, who retired three months ago.
"He was one of the suspects in a DVAC case regarding the issuance of 500 bogus Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) certificates. Four non-teaching staff (regular scaled staff), currently working in the despatch section, are responsible for receiving all the postal communications. Selvam gets details of the candidates, who approach the DDE, through them. Authorities of MKU need to look at this as a serious issue so as to find out the person behind the fraud activities. They must lodge a police complaint to trace the culprit who tarnish the name of MKU," they added.
Responding to this issue, Registrar (i/c) M Sivakumar assured to look into this issue and take appropriate action. MKU Vice Chancellor J Kumar said students should not pay any amount to an individual's account, adding he also received a few complaints on the issue.
"We conducted an enquiry in the despatch section and have transferred a few staff. Students can approach the Controller of Examination regarding certificates in person or e-mail, without falling to fake promises," he said.