GHAZIABAD: Fraud cases are among the most common to be registered at police stations. Hundreds of modus operandi are recorded, but the final objective is common – to fleece. But since Wednesday, there’s one that’s been sticking its neck out for its sheer intrigue.
On March 12, Krishna Shekhar Rana (66) was arrested for impersonating the ‘high commissioner’ of Oman. Not only did he seek security from police on forged letterheads, Rana moved around in a black Mercedes with a fake blue diplomatic number plate, the sort of car one would expect to see in Chanakyapuri.
Background checks showed he had served as VC of four universities, so this was a strange case from the outset.
Rana, TOI found out, is well known in Agra, where he founded his own Krishna Group of Colleges. He belongs to a politically influential family and is the brother of former SP MLA Vijay Singh Rana, who died in 2021. He spent all his career in academics, and the arrest has stunned his associates, who have known him for decades as professor of zoology and an upright man.
Rana claims to hold a law degree from UK, DLit from New York
Rana taught at Dr BR Ambedkar University in Agra for three decades, rising through the ranks from lecturer in 1982 to professor in 2006, before retiring in 2015. After this, he held positions of vice-chancellor at six universities, among them Kumaun University, Mewar University and Jaipur Technical University.
“Dr Rana is a reputed scholar, and we never heard of any misconduct,” a senior professor at Ambedkar University in Agra who declined to be named told TOI on Saturday. “Students liked him. News of his arrest is shocking.”
In 1999, he established Krishna PG College in Agra, which now has over 1,000 students. He also owns a resort in Jaipur highway, which is managed by his son. On the college’s website, Rana is introduced as an educationist, environmentalist, philanthropist and social worker, and also as FZS London. Neither police, nor his associates TOI spoke to could confirm whether FZS meant fellow of zoological society, and if Rana had an association.
On his LinkedIn profile, Rana claims to hold a law degree from Commonwealth Vocational University in the UK and a DLit from the World Human Rights Protection Commission in New York. He also claims to have been an expert advisor with the Appraisal Authority in the environment ministry between 2015 and 2018. MoEF has no such wing. What it has are expert appraisal committees.
There is, however, an Oman connection. Rana had approached the India-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) with a proposal to set up a university in Oman, officials at the council told TOI. The GCC accepted his proposal and gave him an honorary appointment as ‘trade commissioner’ in Aug 2023. “We wanted to work with him because of his academic background,” said Wali Kashvi of India-GCC. “But despite multiple invitations, he never visited Oman. He always made excuses.”
After his arrest, the council has debarred him.
Once he secured the ‘trade commissioner’ title, Rana first claimed VIP protocol from police in Agra when he visited Ambedkar University for an event, police said. On Dec 25 last year, he again sought VIP protocols for an event in Faridabad at Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. On March 8 this year, he sought similar arrangements in Mathura, where he was a chief guest at Shri Dham Vrindavan. On March 11, he sent a letter, undersigned by his private secretary, requesting the same in Ghaziabad. On Feb 22, he attended an event in Delhi but did not seek VIP protocol. But his cover got blown in Ghaziabad, where he had sought security to visit his daughter. The cops were quick to notice that Oman does not have a high commissioner in India. It is represented by its ambassador.
Since his arrest, Rana has maintained that his personal secretary, Dev Kumar, was behind the documents – letters asking for security under forged letterheads – that were sent to police. “When we apprehended him, he was unfazed and even asked for two days to prove his credentials,” said Nimish Patil, DCP, Trans-Hindon. “The Oman embassy had already confirmed there was no such official, so we arrested him immediately,” he added.
Investigators have not yet found any evidence suggesting Rana used his fake identity for monetary gain. His social media profiles have several videos of him at events, often accompanied by security. Police said they suspect his impersonation was purely for influence – to create an illusion of power, rather than financial gain.
