KANPUR, May 22 -- Three months after police first busted a fake degree racket operating out of Kidwai Nagar, investigators have arrested the alleged kingpin's nephew, who they say delivered forged university certificates across several states and helped expand the network through award shows and honorary doctorates. Raghav Sarraf was arrested from Kidwai Nagar on Tuesday, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine. Police said Sarraf, nephew of alleged mastermind Dr Manish Kumar, told investigators he had delivered at least 65 fake degrees, marksheets and certificates to clients in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Sahibabad since joining the operation in 2020. The arrest came a day after Manish Kumar and co-accused Arjun Yadav, a coaching operator from Unnao, were sent to jail. During questioning, both allegedly named Sarraf as part of the network. According to deputy commissioner of police (south) Deependra Nath Chaudhary, Sarraf, a Class 12 pass-out, primarily worked as a courier for the racket. He allegedly received sealed packets containing forged degrees, migration certificates and marksheets and delivered them directly to clients. Police said he was paid Rs.10,000 for delivering school and graduation-level documents and Rs.15,000 for professional certificates. Chaudhary said investigators recovered 62 suspected forged documents from Sarraf's mobile phone linked to 17 universities, including Anna University, Osmania University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Bundelkhand University, DY Patil University, Chaudhary Charan Singh University and Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University. A provisional certificate linked to Lingaya's Vidyapeeth and two cheques belonging to a private bank were also recovered, police said. What began as a fake marksheet investigation has now widened into what police describe as a larger branding and influence operation. Commissioner of police Raghubir Lal said the special investigation team (SIT) had identified five more suspects, including two from Madhya Pradesh, one from Hyderabad and two from Kanpur. Investigators have also traced the printing of fake degrees and marksheets to a press in Indore allegedly run by an advocate named Santosh Shukla. During questioning, the accused allegedly told police they organised award ceremonies in Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru between 2022 and 2025, inviting people from healthcare, education, music and entertainment sectors and presenting them with medals, trophies and honorary titles. Police said the accused also claimed to have arranged an honorary doctorate for a senior Cambodian politician through a so-called "Global Human Peace University", whose credentials are now under scrutiny, Lal said. Investigators believe photographs from such events were used to project legitimacy and attract clients. Police said the accused were also planning an event in Dubai this year and had contacted a person named Tanveer there to coordinate it. The event, however, did not materialise after sponsors failed to come through. Officials said digital records, photographs and certificates recovered from the accused persons' mobile phones are being examined as the investigation continues....