Meghalaya's CMJ fake degree scam: ED raids offices, Chancellor's residences in Shillong, New Delhi

The Guwahati Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on December 22, conducted search operations at the offices of Meghalaya's CMJ University, CMJ Foundation, as well as the residences of Chancellor Chandra Mohan Jha in Shillong and New Delhi.

The raids, carried out under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital evidence.

The ED's search operations are a response to long-standing legal procedures against CMJ University, based on alleged fraud cases involving the issuance of fake degrees. The Meghalaya Governor had directed the university's dissolution in 2013; however, the Meghalaya High Court upheld the dissolution in 2021.

In a statement, the ED said that probe into the matter was launched after the Meghalaya police had filed an FIR and charge-sheet against the university, the Chancellor and his family, among others for giving out thousands of fake degrees to students in exchange of money. 

The ED informed that the university had disbursed around 20,570 fake degrees despite having a minimum number of faculty members. It also stated that crime proceeds worth Rs 83.52 crore have been identified, of which properties worth ₹48.76 crore were attached earlier.