CBI books National Defence Academy principal, professors in recruitment scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday booked the principal and three other teaching staff members of the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Pune for alleged irregularities in recruitment of teaching staff. The CBI said it had booked the NDA principal Om Prakash Shukla, head of chemistry department, a professor of political science, an assistant professor of chemistry and an assistant professor of mathematics and ‘unknown others including certain officials’ for their roles in the recruitment scam. “It was alleged that certain faculty members of NDA entered into conspiracy with unknown officials including UPSC and HQ-IDS(Ministry of Defense) and in pursuance thereof, got selected and appointed in different posts of teaching faculty in NDA without possessing mandatory teaching/research experience as prescribed by UPSC and as required by Ministry of Defense, on the basis of forged and false certificates indicating their service/teaching experience and exaggerated Academic Performance Indicator (API) score,” the CBI said in a statement. “It was further alleged that the exaggerated API score sheets of Professor and Associate Professor were certified and forwarded to UPSC by some faculty members of NDA. Searches are being conducted at the premises including office/residential of accused at Pune,” the CBI said. “NDA was apprised of the allegations by the CBI team on their arrival this morning. They had, with them, relevant documents authorizing the procedure for necessary investigation. It is clarified that the issue related to allegations of submission of inappropriate documentations by some academic faculty members at the time of their selection and appointment to NDA by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Necessary actions are at hand and due procedures will follow,” the NDA said in a statement. The CBI registered a case under Sections 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of IPC and 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) read with 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against the accused. In July 2017, the CBI had initiated a preliminary enquiry into the allegations of irregularities in the recruitment of teaching staff at the defense training institute. Shukla and the others have been booked for exaggerating the credentials of a few people in order to get them jobs at the institute which trains budding military officers. In 2012, the CBI had arrested six people in a similar case at the same institute. The arrested people included Colonel Kulbir Singh, staff officer to NDA Commandant Lt Gen Jatinder Singh, NDA employee Ramesh Gaikwad, Bal Kishen Kanojia - who runs a food stall in Pune, his employee Vishnu Sharma and two alleged touts Manoj Sheetal Kar and Dattatre Sheetal Kar. The CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused in 2015. The accused are now out on bail. Source: Hindustan Times