Delhi law minister arrested for fake law degree

Published June 9, 2015
Jitendra Singh Tomar was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forging documents. 
-AFP/File
Jitendra Singh Tomar was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forging documents. -AFP/File

NEW DELHI: Police say they have arrested the New Delhi state law minister for allegedly holding a fake degree in law and registering as an attorney in the Indian capital.

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat says Jitendra Singh Tomar was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forging documents.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

According to Bhagat, Tomar says he obtained a law degree from a university in Bihar state, but police found it to be fake.

Several Indian politicians, including some in the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, face similar charges. Tomar belongs to the Aam Admi Party, or Common Man Party, formed by anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal.

The AAP won a massive victory in elections in New Delhi earlier this year.

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