UP govt verifying recruitment scam

Lucknow, Sep 6 (UNI) The Uttar Pradesh government is verifying whether retiring IPS officers were involved in the 'recruitment scam' during the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government.

''If they were involved, the retirement benefits might get affected,'' said an official. Official sources today said the DGP office has been asked to certify whether IPS officers who were retiring in the next few months were involved in the recruitment scam.

Between Septemer and December this year, a total of eight IPS officers are retiring.

''This is just a clarification...we are not doubting their integrity. It is just that after retirement, it is difficult to summon the official for his statement and other related matters,'' he added.

A total of around 470 police constables recruited during the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government have been given sack orders so far for failing to match recruitment criterion.

A committee scrutinising the recruitment process has found that 467 such official do not have the capability to be in the police service. While some are physically unfit, some others have given fake age certificates.

The constables marked so far are among the 20,000 recruited into the police force and the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) during the year 2005-06.

''The figure can easily touch 1000 in the coming days...while the government wants the officials to end the scrutiny at the earliest, it will take till October to end the process,'' confided an officer.

Chief Minister Mayawati had ordered scrutinising the recruitments following large scale complaints of irregularities.

Additional Director General (ADG) of Police in charge of Special Task Force S K Mishra is heading the committee, looking into the irregularities.

The respective district police chiefs (SSPs and SPs) are checking the records of new recruits to remove the 'undeserving officials'.

On the other hand, the board looking into the overall irregularities is also investigating the role of IPS officers who headed the 55 recruitment boards set up across the State during the previous regime.

The recruitment was carried out at different places between February 2005 and November 2006. At 15 places, selections boards were headed by the district SSPs/SPs. At 40 other places, the government had deputed DIG rank officers.

Even as government mulls action against senior police officials, one of state's top cop Additional Director General of Police Ajay Singh has been chargesheeted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for corruption and cheating.

The FIR was lodged on the complaint of one Ramnath Singh Yadav, who claimed to have given the ADG a list of 20 applicants and an amount of Rs 26 lakh. But Yadav claimed the ADG did not do anything despite pocketing the money.

UNI