Shimla: A major case of alleged fraud and forgery in government recruitment has been reported at the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB), where three individuals are accused of securing employment using forged academic and technical certificates. The Vigilance Department has registered an FIR against all three at the Vigilance Police Station in Chamba after the concerned educational institutions denied issuing the certificates submitted by them.
According to the preliminary investigation, the alleged forged certificates were purportedly issued by institutions in Karnataka and Rajasthan, as well as the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Noida. Verification from the respective institutions revealed that none of the certificates had been issued in the names of the accused.
One of the accused, Anil Kumar, was appointed as a Junior Engineer (JE) in the Electricity Board’s Holi subdivision in 2022. He allegedly secured the appointment by submitting a diploma in Electrical Engineering purportedly issued by Karnataka State Open University. However, during verification, the university denied issuing any such diploma in his name.
The second accused, Divesh Kumar, a resident of Dehra village in Chamba district, was appointed as a Junior T-Mate in the Chamba division of the Electricity Board in 2021. He had submitted a Class 10 certificate purportedly issued by Rajasthan State Open School, Jaipur. The institution, however, denied the authenticity of the certificate during the verification process.
In the third case, Vishal Kumar, a resident of Balu, was appointed as a Junior T-Mate in the Dalhousie division in 2019. He had submitted a Class 10 certificate claiming to have been issued by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Noida. The certificate was also found to be inauthentic after verification with the institution.
Meanwhile, the investigation has raised questions about the role of certain Electricity Board officials who allegedly failed to inform the investigating agency about the suspicious certificates despite being aware of their questionable authenticity. The Vigilance Department is now examining the possible involvement and role of these officials in the matter.
Following questions over the genuineness of the documents, the Electricity Board management had initiated departmental proceedings against the employees. As part of the action, Anil Kumar and Vishal Kumar Chauhan were dismissed from service, while the resignation of Divesh Kumar was accepted.
The Vigilance Department has now registered a criminal case against the three individuals under charges related to cheating, forgery and other offences. Further investigation is underway to establish the circumstances under which the allegedly forged certificates were used to obtain government employment and whether any officials facilitated or ignored the irregularities.
