FAIZABAD, UP: Aam Aadmi Party found itself in a tighter spot in the fake degree controversy as Faizabad’s Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University on Wednesday confirmed Delhi Police’s charge that Jitendra Singh Tomar did not possess a graduation degree from the institution.

The university’s assertion virtually established that the former law minister of Delhi had forged his educational qualification certificates – a serious offence for which he was arrested on Tuesday.

The university’s media in-charge, S N Shukla, said the roll number Tomar had cited was not found in their records. He said the university had not pressed criminal charges against the ex-minister as the case was under investigation.

“The university has not lodged an FIR against Tomar. We stick to our original stand that Tomar’s documents given to us as part of an RTI query seeking their veracity were not part of the university’s records,” Shukla said.

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A Delhi Police team brought Tomar to Faizabad in the morning via Lucknow, where the ex-minister maintained his degree was valid and blamed the Centre for a “political conspiracy” against him. An earlier plan to take Tomar to Faizabad by road from Lucknow had to be changed at the last moment when a large number of AAP volunteers gathered at the railway station to show their support.

The police team was forced to take Tomar to Faizabad in an unreserved ladies’ compartment as it had reservations on the Farakka Express only up to Lucknow. The Delhi police team bought fresh tickets and travelled in the ladies’ compartment which had vacant seats.

At RMLAU, Tomar was questioned for five-and-a-half hours. He was asked to “recollect and relive most basic events of his academic life” before he was taken to registrar M L Maurya and controller of examination S M Ansari’s offices.

Sources said the Delhi Police team examined documents related to Tomar’s mark-sheet and degree for about three hours after which the documents were sealed.

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Tomar was then taken to Saket Degree College affiliated to RMLAU, where he claims to have graduated from, and again questioned there for about three hours. He was asked about his place of stay as a student, names of friends and teachers as well as other important events during his college days.

Tomar will also be taken to Tilak Manjhi University in Bhagalpur, from where he allegedly obtained a fake LLB degree. Delhi Police have alleged that the signatures of examination controller Rajender Prasad Singh on his LLB (Part III) mark-sheet and provisional degree were found to be forged.

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