The Truth
The criminal trials revealed things I had not expected.
The Origin Story
Vikram Shetty testified under plea agreement.
His story was almost sympathetic. He had started as a legitimate IT professional, genuinely committed to improving Somaiya's technology infrastructure. The shadow system began as something small—a way to fix obvious errors in automated systems that no one else knew how to correct.
The corruption came gradually.
A student begged him to fix an attendance record that would cost them an exam. He helped, for no payment. Word spread. More requests came. Eventually, he realized he could charge for these services.
"It started as helping people," he testified. "It became a business before I understood what I was doing."
But this explanation only went so far. The external connections, the network across multiple colleges, the sophisticated cover-up systems—these were not accidental. Somewhere along the way, he had made deliberate choices to build a criminal operation.
The Network's Purpose
The larger network was more calculated.
The external servers connected to an organization that had specific goals. They collected data from compromised college systems—not just for fraud, but for intelligence.
Graduate placement data revealed which companies were hiring, what skills they valued, what salaries they offered. This was competitive intelligence, sold to corporations and recruiters.
Academic records showed which students had real qualifications and which were artificially boosted. This was used by employers who wanted to filter candidates beyond official records.
And the email access provided insight into institutional decision-making—which was leveraged by consulting firms, by vendors, by anyone willing to pay for inside knowledge.
The student fraud was almost a side business. The real product was information.
The Protectors
The political connections were the most disturbing discovery.
Several network operators had relationships with government officials. Not direct corruption—more subtle. Campaign contributions from shell companies. Consulting contracts that provided cover for income. Access to information that helped officials make better decisions.
In return, the officials provided protection. Warnings when investigations approached. Influence over which cases were pursued. A safety net that allowed the network to operate for years without serious consequences.
The corruption was not just criminal. It was systemic. Part of how power worked.
The Victims
The trials included victim impact statements.
Students who had lost opportunities because their records had been artificially diminished—to make room for paying clients.
Researchers whose work had been stolen through administrative email access.
Companies who had hired candidates based on falsified credentials, only to discover their actual capabilities.
Institutions whose reputations had been damaged by association with the fraud.
The harm extended far beyond Somaiya, far beyond education. The network had corrupted trust in systems that millions depended on.
The Accountability
The sentences varied.
Vikram Shetty received significant prison time, though less than he might have without his cooperation. He would spend years thinking about how his small helpful actions had cascaded into this.
The external operators received harsher sentences. They had built the infrastructure knowing exactly what it would be used for.
The administrators who had facilitated the network were removed from their positions, some facing their own charges.
And the political protectors? Most escaped formal consequences. The connections were too difficult to prove, the influence too subtle to prosecute. They were damaged by association but not destroyed.
This was the hardest lesson: accountability is uneven. Not everyone who participated suffered equally.
The System
But the most important truth was not about individuals.
It was about systems.
The shadow network had exploited weaknesses that existed throughout Indian education:
- Overreliance on quantitative metrics that could be gamed
- Centralized databases with inadequate security
- Political pressure that prevented independent oversight
- A culture that prioritized institutional reputation over actual integrity
These weaknesses were not unique to Somaiya. They existed everywhere. The network had simply been organized enough to exploit them systematically.
Stopping this one network was not enough. The conditions that created it remained.
The Ongoing Work
After the trials, the work continued.
The resistance organization I had joined became permanent. We developed tools for detecting similar systems. We trained students and IT staff to recognize signs of compromise. We advocated for policy changes that would make such networks harder to build.
New cases emerged. Other networks, other institutions, other forms of corruption. Each was different, but each exploited the same underlying weaknesses.
We could not stop all of it. But we could make it harder. We could ensure that the next person who noticed an anomaly had support to investigate it.
The Question
Sometimes I am asked: was it worth it?
The cost was real. My education was disrupted. My mental health suffered. My relationships strained. I spent years dealing with consequences that most people my age never faced.
But I also exposed a system that had harmed thousands. I helped build something that would protect thousands more. I learned what I was capable of when circumstances demanded it.
Was it worth it? I do not know. The accounting is complex.
But I know this: I would do it again.
Not because it was easy. Not because the outcome was guaranteed. But because truth matters. Because corruption unchallenged grows. Because someone has to notice the anomalies.
I noticed. I investigated. I persisted.
And the truth came out.
The truth is never simple. It is always connected to other truths, to causes and consequences we never fully understand. But seeking it—that is always worthwhile.
Next: The reckoning—what happens when a system must rebuild itself.