Dominica government flags fake honorary doctorate degree racket in India

The government of Commonwealth of Dominica flagged the Office of High Commissioner for India, London (UK) about a university distributing fake honorary doctorate degrees in India claiming affiliation of the Dominican Government.

Taking a strict action, Indian Ministry of External Affairs set-up a special team to probe the matter as the university reportedly has its roots in Kollam district of Kerala, India, where various persons were given honorary doctorates in ceremonies mainly conducted in New Delhi.

Dominica’s letter to India has claimed that there is no such institution by the name of "Ballsbridge University" in the capital city Roseau.

The letter further states, "This institution (Ballsbridge University) is not registered in Dominica and it does not have a licence to operate as a Higher Education Institute in Dominica. Further, the government has no affiliation with Ballsbridge University."

According to sources, Indian MEA assigned the task to Kerala State government. A complaint has also been registered in Kottarakara police station of Kollam rural district of Kerala, India on August 20, 2020, against Dr Pappachan Baby, who has been allegedly leading the fake university in the country with false affiliation and certification claims. The First Information Report is registered under Act 1860 of the Indian Penal Code under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

Divulging the details, Kollam Rural Superintendent of Police Hari Sankar said the investigation is at preliminary stage and police is conducting thorough investigation to reveal the alleged fake degree racket. Moreover, he confirmed that the First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Dr Pappachan Baby. Sources also revealed that police have also summoned Dr Pappachan Baby for the statement.

The sources in Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Kerala State Police revealed that in preliminary investigations, some connections have been traced between alleged fraudster Dr Pappachan Baby and Dominican Leader of Opposition, Lennox Linton. The official confirmation of this information is still awaited.

However, the Ballsbridge university on the official websites (www.acedu.org and www.ballsbridgeedu.org) claims to be affiliated by the government of Dominica and refers to itself as an "open university."

This university has awarded honorary doctorate degrees to several renowned Indian individuals such as Karnam Malleswari - the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics, Dr Eur Ing Bishnujee Singh - Cheif Executive Officer of Cayley Aerospace Inc, USA, Gunwant Singh Chairman of Mongia Steel, Kapil Pathare Director of VIP Clothing to name a few.

Ballsbridge Society for Education and Research (BSER) which is being operated by Ebenezer Mission International (EMI) Institute, calls itself a non-profit public charitable organization in Kerala and is led by Professor Dr Pappachan Baby.

The group allegedly offers fake accredited higher education awards and courses, stated in association with the Institute of Chartered Professional (ICP), Commonwealth of Dominica and Ballsbridge University.

Dr Pappachan Baby, who also has a strong social media presence where he highlights a number of honorary doctorate degrees that were distributed to people in different convocation ceremonies – mostly in 5-star hotels.

Furthermore, as per the website of the Ballsbridge University, it has come to light that at all the executive members of the University board mostly comprise from one family, the Idahosa family.