Hockey veteran Mukesh Kumar booked on charges of cheating

Hyderabad, February 13

A cheating case has been registered against triple Olympian and former India hockey team captain N Mukesh Kumar and his brother for allegedly obtaining fake Scheduled Caste certificates and securing jobs in the Indian Airlines, police said here Wednesday.

Acting on a complaint by a local Tehsildar, an FIR had been registered under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) an 471 (using as genuine a forged document) against Mukesh Kumar and his brother Suresh Kumar, Bowenpally Police Station Inspector D Rajesh told PTI.

Mukesh Kumar, an Arjuna Award winner, and his brother allegedly furnished false SC ‘A’ Mala caste certificates and secured employment in the state-run Indian Airlines while they belonged to backward class ‘A Nayee Brahmin” community, Rajesh said quoting the complaint.

The airlines had earlier requested the Hyderabad district officials to inquire into the matter after it received a complaint that the brothers did not belong to the SC community.

Reacting to the development, Mukesh Kumar, a city resident, said he had had the SC certificate since Class I.

“I got the job in the Indian Airllines under the sports quota,” he told PTI.

Kumar, a star forward, represented India in over 300 international matches and scored 80 goals.

He had featured in three Olympic Games — Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). He has also been conferred with the Padma Shri award. — PTI