Clerk held for ‘forging’ Patiala DC’s sign for issuing gun licence

A clerk in Patiala's DC office was arrested for forging the DC’s signature to issue gun licenses. The scam was detected by the DC, leading to a police investigation.

A clerk in the Patiala deputy commissioner’s (DC) office has been arrested for allegedly forging the DC’s signature for issuance of gun licence. It was the DC himself who detected the fraudulent activities and necessitated the swift police action in this regard.

The clerk Praveen Kumar had been working in the PLA branch, which issues gun licences, for nearly a year. Police said they will probe all the gun licences issued during Kumar’s tenure to identify any further illegal activities. (HT File)

The accused has been identified as Praveen Kumar. The district administration is now out to find out how many licences have been issued through the forged signatures and also tracking down the individuals to whom licences have been issued.

The scam was uncovered when an applicant submitted a gun licence application at the Seva Kendra located at the district administrative complex and a worker got suspicious upon noticing that the deputy commissioner’s signature on the application form did not match the official signature.

The worker immediately alerted the DC, who subsequently summoned the applicant to his office. It was during the meeting the applicant is said to have disclosed that he had struck a ₹1 lakh deal with a middleman to secure the licence and had already paid ₹10,000 to both the clerk and the middleman.

“There is a possibility of an organised racket. We have requested the police to thoroughly investigate the matter,” a senior district administration official stated. “We have also asked the Patiala police to apprehend the middlemen involved in this scam,” he added.

Pardeep Singh Bajwa, station house officer (SHO) of Tripuri, confirmed the arrest. A case has been registered under Sections 61(2), 336, and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “The clerk had been working in the PLA branch, which issues gun licences, for nearly a year. We will be probing all gun licences issued during his tenure to identify any further illegal activities,” he said.

When questioned about the involvement of middlemen, Bajwa affirmed, “Of course, there is a middleman. These activities usually don’t take place without their involvement.”