The National Defence Academy (NDA) on Wednesday said that the allegations of irregularities in the selection and appointment of the teaching faculty of the academy was appraised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"NDA was apprised of the allegations by the CBI team. 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)," the NDA said in a statement.
As per an FIR copy of the CBI, it named Dr Jagmohan Meher (professor of political science), Dr Vanita Puri (associate professor of chemistry), Dr Rajeev Bansal (associate professor of Mathematics), Dr Maheshwar Roy (Head of Department, Chemistry) and other unknown faculty members, along with NDA Principal Omprakash Shukla, as being involved in the selection.
The accused entered into criminal conspiracy with unknown officials from UPSC and Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Ministry of Defence and got selected in different posts of the teaching faculty of the NDA without possessing mandatory training or research experience as prescribed by the UPSC and as required by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The selection was done on the basis of forged and false certificates indicating their service and teaching experience and exaggerated the Academic Performance Indicator (API) score.
"Before June 2011, the eligibility criteria for recruitment for the different posts of faculty members included only educational qualification and teaching/research experience. However, after framing the Statutory Recruitment Orders (SROs) in June 2011 by MoD, in addition to the qualification and experience, MoD also introduced API score. It is calculated on the basis of research publications, presentation of papers in seminars, training courses attended etc. The candidates have to obtain a minimum API score to become eligible for the posts," the CBI said.
The preliminary enquiry revealed that Shukla falsely exaggerated his teaching and research experience in his applications to UPSC for the post of the professor (economics) in 2007 and then for the principal of NDA in 2011 even though he did not have the required teaching experience for claiming such appointments.
Also, the documents on the claim of his teaching experience were not verified by HQ IDS officials in New Delhi before his appointment of the above posts.
Similarly, Meher falsely claimed and exaggerated his API scores for the post of professor in political science in 2012, despite the fact that he was not possessing the required score for his eligibility. Also, his score sheet was certified and approved by Shukla.
Dr Puri also exaggerated her API score for the post of associate professor in chemistry which was certified by both Maheshwar Roy and Shukla. Also, Puri's claim of false API score was not verified by the UPSC officials.
The above modus operandi was adopted by Bansal respectively.
The CBI on Wednesday registered a case against Shukla and others in Pune's Khadakwasla on allegations of irregularities in the selection and appointment of the teaching faculty of the NDA.
Searches were being conducted by the CBI at the premises of the military academy, including office and residences of the accused in Pune.
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