Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Eight Hyderabad Junior Colleges Booked for Forging HYDRAA Chief's Signature
Some colleges in a city called Hyderabad did something very wrong.
Colleges need special permission papers to open and keep teaching students.
One important paper is a fire safety certificate, which shows that a building is safe if there is a fire.
Eight colleges made fake copies of this certificate.
They copied the signature of a top safety official, Mr. AV Ranganath, without his permission, which is called forgery.
Forgery is against the law and can be dangerous, because the colleges may not have followed real fire safety rules.
Officials discovered the fake papers when they checked all the certificates submitted by colleges.
Now the police are investigating, and these eight colleges may lose their permission to teach.
Police also want to find the people who helped create the fake documents.
Police booked eight private junior colleges in Hyderabad for allegedly forging the signature of HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath on fire safety No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
The forged NOCs were submitted to the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) to obtain academic affiliation and operational permission.
The forgery surfaced when District Intermediate Education Officers of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy forwarded 76 NOCs to HYDRAA for verification; two reports say eight were fake, while a third says seven in the first phase.
A third report adds that across the Telangana Core Urban Region, 52 of 142 NOCs from junior colleges were forged, and HYDRAA recommended cancellation of affiliation for the eight colleges.
A case was registered at the Lake Police Station under BNS Sections 337, 336(3), 340(2), 318(4) read with 3(5) after a July 4 complaint by HYDRAA Additional Director Papaiah Varla, who sought cancellation of the colleges' affiliation.
- Who
- Eight private junior colleges — Priyanka, Mothers Girls, Sri Chaitanya (Sri Chandra in one report), New Era, Shaheer (Shaheen), Vashishta (Vasista), Hindavi (Haindavi) and Residence (Resonance) — along with HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath, whose signature was forged, and HYDRAA Additional Director Papaiah Varla, who lodged the complaint.
- What
- The colleges submitted forged fire NOCs bearing Ranganath's signature to the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) to obtain academic affiliation and operational permission; HYDRAA flagged the documents as fake and police registered a criminal case, recommending cancellation of the colleges' affiliation.
- When
- A complaint was filed on July 4 at the Lake Police Station (year not stated in the reports), after HYDRAA's verification of NOCs for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 academic years.
- Where
- Hyderabad and nearby areas in Telangana, including Mehdipatnam, Vidyanagar, Chandrayangutta, Chikkadpally, Shivarampally, Tellapur (Sangareddy district), Barkatpura and SR Nagar; the case was registered at the Lake Police Station on Necklace Road.
- Why
- The colleges allegedly disregarded fire safety norms and used forged documents to secure board affiliation, which HYDRAA said endangered students' lives and deceived the government.
- Event
- Police booked 8 private junior colleges for forging HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath's signature on fire NOCs
- Forged Official
- AV Ranganath, Commissioner of HYDRAA
- Scale of Verification
- 142 junior colleges in Telangana Core Urban Region submitted NOCs; 90 genuine, 52 forged (per one report)
- First-Phase Finding
- 8 of 76 NOCs found fake (two reports); a third report says 7 fake in the first phase and 45 of 66 in the second
- Affiliation Body
- Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE)
- Complaint
- Filed July 4 at Lake Police Station, Necklace Road, by HYDRAA Additional Director Papaiah Varla
- Legal Sections
- 337, 336(3), 340(2), 318(4) read with 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
- Affected Colleges
- Priyanka (Mehdipatnam), Mothers Girls (Vidyanagar), Sri Chaitanya/Sri Chandra (Chandrayangutta), New Era (Chikkadpally), Shaheer/Shaheen (Shivarampally), Vashishta/Vasista (Tellapur), Hindavi/Haindavi (Barkatpura), Residence/Resonance (SR Nagar)
