Hyderabad: Over 70 private junior colleges in Hyderabad are under the scanner for allegedly forging the signature of Hydraa commissioner, AV Ranganath, to obtain fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the dept. The NOC is mandatory to securing recognition from the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) and must be signed by the Hydraa chief, if the institute falls within its jurisdiction.While the Lake police, based on a complaint from Papaiah Varla, additional director of Hydraa, have booked criminal cases against eight of these colleges, the remaining are under scrutiny, cops told TOI. The colleges identified during investigation are located in areas such as SR Nagar, Mehdipatnam, Chikkadpally, Tellapur and Barkatpura.They have been charged under Sections 337 (forgery of a court record, public register, or government identity document), 336(3 (forgery committed with the intent to cheat), 340(2) (fraudulently or dishonestly using a forged document or electronic record), 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), r/w 3(5) (joint liability of criminal act by multiple persons with common intention) of the BNS. “Investigation is underway to determine whether more colleges are involved and to identify those responsible for preparing and supplying the forged certificates. We suspect it could be a larger racket involving supply of forged documents,” a police official told TOI.The fraud first came to light on Feb 26, 2026, when Hydraa received a complaint from G Suresh alleging that a junior college in Barkatpura had submitted a fake fire NOC. Verification of official records confirmed that the certificate had never been issued by the agencySuspecting a larger fraud, it sought copies of Fire NOCs submitted by all private junior colleges to the TGBIE. Subsequently, district Intermediate Education Officers (DIEOs) from Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy forwarded 76 Fire NOCs to HYDRAA for verification. “While we have flagged eight so far, we estimate that the number could be much higher — around 100,” said Ranganath, adding that the verification process is still underway.Under existing regulations, all commercial buildings, including junior colleges operating in buildings up to 21 metres in height must obtain a valid fire NOC before commencing operations.
