M A I N   N E W S

Ex-DGP cleared indicted cops
Got jobs on fake degrees
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 21
The Punjab Government is contemplating high-level inquiry to probe authenticity of the degrees acquired from the university outside the state on the basis of which a number of beneficiaries got jobs, especially in the Police Department.

Earlier, a senior IPS officer had indicted at least two assistant sub-inspectors and a DSP for getting jobs on the basis of “fake certificates” issued by Magadh University, Gaya (Bihar), in two separate inquiries. However, the then Director General of Punjab Police, had dropped action on the inquries. The inquiries were re-opened by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the direction of the court and ASIs were chargesheeted, the DSP is still in service. The Magadh University was already in news for conferring Ph.D. and D.Lt. degrees on top bureaucrats and MLAs of Bihar in a questionable manner. It is interesting that some of the spouses of senior police officials and VIPs of Bihar had also been given the Ph.D degrees as bonus of their posting in Gaya. It is reliably learnt that many job-seekers in Punjab queue up for “fake degrees” in connivance with the senior officials of Magadh and other outside universities, after indictment of the two ASIs including Gurpreet Singh a relative of former Cooperation Minister, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, and another ASI Amarbir Singh, from the home constituency of former Chief Minister by Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh an IPS officer, the state government is likely to screen all candidates who had got jobs on the basis of the ‘certificates’ procured from the universities outside the state.

Though, the inquiry officer had held that both ASIs had furnished bogus degrees for getting jobs yet action on the dropped inquiries dropped by the then Director General of Police, Punjab.

However, Mr Parmpal Singh, DSP, who was also indicted for getting job on the basis of the “bogus certificates’ claimed that the inquiry conducted by Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had no “relevance” as the then DGP, Mr Sarbjit Singh, had already given him a “clean chit”. He claimed that as per a court ruling inquiry could not be re-opened once the file was closed by the police chief of the state. He showed the report of the DGP which reads “I have gone through the available record. DSP Parmpal Singh has also been heard and the record shown by him perused. Mr Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh was deputed to visit Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, to verify whether Mr Parmpal Singh passed BA Examination from the university in September 1991. However, he submitted his report without any documentary proof from the university concerned. However, in para three of the report he (the inquiry officer) mentioned that the name of Mr Parmpal Singh did not exist in the registration record of the university. Whereas he himself admitted in paragraph four that the name of Mr Parmpal Singh was got registered”.

On the other hand the report of Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh reads, “during the inquiry it has come to my notice that there is an inter-state gang operating in the cities of Delhi, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Meerut, Patna and Bodh Gaya (Bihar) which has been indulging in preparing false and forged degrees for the students of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and some other states. They somehow manage to get false entries in the records of Magadh university in connivance with some officials of the varsity. The possibility of taking the help from the gang cannot be ruled out”.

While giving report on Mr Parmpal Singh the inquiry officer concluded that the DSP had not studied in any college of the Magadh University and had not appeared in any examination conducted by the said varsity. He alleged that Mr Parmpal Singh had somehow, managed to get a false and forged degree of BA pass course in connivance of some officials of Magadh University. He said one cannot do BA and X plus two from different university at the same time. In the 1987-89 session Mr Parmpal Singh was doing his X plus two from the Punjab School Education Board, one cannot do X plus two and BA course in the same session and in the same period as per registration, Mr Parmpal Singh registered for BA pass course examination in 1987 which is not possible because he passed X plus two examination in 1989.

However, report of the then DGP which gave the DSP ‘clean chit’ reads that “Parmpal Singh appeared in BA part one as a correspondence course candidate. He also appeared in 1991 in the BA examination conducted by Magadh University for passing BA. The examination was delayed from 1989 to 1991. From personal hearing of Parmpal Singh it is clarified that this is due to this reason that Parmpal Singh appeared in BA (I) of Panjab University, after passing BA from Magadh University he did not pursue his studies in Panjab University. He also submitted his BA (I) certificate to the department at the time of recruitment. This proves ‘no malafide intention’ of the official. The certificate of BA was also got verified by SSP, Ropar in 1998 by depositing Rs 30 as detailed marks certificates fees and got revised certificates after rectifying the ‘clerical mistake’. The Magadh University authorities vide letter dated January 28, 1998, said that registration number 65276/89 has been recorded in the tabulation registration in this office whereas due to typing mistakes registered number 65276/89 has been wrongly typed as 65276189. This proves that the certificate has been issued by the university and is genuine.

However the inquiry officer Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had recommended that Mr Parmpal Singh had ‘cheated’ the police authorities and the government and also deprived some genuine candidate of opportunity to get selected for the job. Parmpal Singh should be proceeded against not only departmentally but a criminal case also be registered against him.

It is interesting the ASI who had been given a clean chit by the senior officers during the SAD-BJP regime were later on found guilty of furnishing forged degrees for getting the jobs.