The special PMLA court of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has given an important verdict in a big case of fake degree scam. The court has declared a woman named Ashoni Kanwar and her son Mandeep Rana as fugitives. ED action is going on against him in the economic offense case. The court has given its verdict on the petition of ED Shimla Sub Zonal Office on January 3, 2026.
Investigation was started on the basis of FIR
ED had started this investigation on the basis of three FIRs registered at Dharampur Police Station, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Investigation revealed that Raj Kumar Rana, along with his wife Ashoni Kanwar and son Mandeep Rana, sold fake degrees to agents and students by taking money. These degrees were issued in the name of Manav Bharti University, Solan.
Illegal earnings of around Rs 4 billion, many properties attached
According to ED investigation, illegal earnings of about Rs 387 crore were generated from this fraud. With this money, the accused purchased movable and immovable properties in the names of themselves and their relatives in many states. Till now ED has attached assets worth about Rs 200 crore.
ED has filed charge sheet against 14 people
In this case, ED has already filed chargesheet against 14 people and 2 institutions. On January 4, 2023, the court took cognizance and issued summons to Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana, but they did not appear. After this, open-ended non-bailable warrants were issued against him on 4 November 2023.
Mother and son left the country and shifted to Australia
Investigation also revealed that only after the FIR was registered, both the accused left the country and went to Australia and are living there. Despite repeated summons by ED, he did not join the investigation and refused to return to India.
Based on these facts, ED filed an application under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Agreeing with the arguments of ED, the Special PMLA Court of Shimla declared Ashoni Kanwar and Mandeep Rana as fugitive economic offenders on January 3, 2026. ED says that further investigation is going on in this case.
