Delhi cop suspended, two probed over Rs 2.4cr fake NCERT book seizure
Nearly a month after a major seizure of counterfeit NCERT textbooks worth Rs 2.4 crore, the Delhi Police has suspended a special staff inspector and launched an internal enquiry against two other officers over alleged procedural lapses linked to the case.The raid, carried out on May 16, followed a tip-off received by the now-suspended inspector.The operation, led by the Special Staff unit of Shahdara district in coordination with NCERT officials, resulted in the arrest of three individuals involved in the illegal printing and sale of fake textbooks.advertisement
According to officials, the team raided a premise on Mandoli Road, where they found Prashant Gupta (48) and his son Nishant Gupta (26), allegedly running the operation with help from several labourers. A significant stock of counterfeit NCERT books was recovered during the raid.However, questions have now been raised about the legitimacy of the raid and the role of the officers involved. Two sub-inspectors, one from the Special Staff and another from the Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS), are now facing a departmental enquiry. Authorities are investigating how the raid was approved and whether the team had proper jurisdiction to carry out the operation.'Special Staff is typically assigned to deal with serious criminal cases. It's unusual for them to conduct raids on counterfeit school books,' a senior police officer said. The enquiry will also look into financial discrepancies, if any, related to the raid.advertisementDespite the current controversy, the Delhi Police had publicly announced the success of the May 16 operation in a press briefing.This wasn't the first crackdown on fake textbooks. A month earlier, on April 15, police had seized over 4,000 counterfeit NCERT books from Arvind Gupta, 33, who was allegedly distributing them to students and shopkeepers in Samaypur Badli. Gupta, based in Rohini Sector 16, is believed to have sourced the fake books from several printing presses across Delhi to stay under the radar.The latest developments raise serious concerns about internal processes within the police force, even as they continue to tackle the growing problem of counterfeit educational material.(With PTI inputs)
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