FIR against Congress MLA for using fake documents to run college in Bhopal

Bhopal: An FIR has been registered against Congress MLA Arif Masood for allegedly using forged documents to obtain government recognition for a city-based college two decades ago.

The action was taken on a directive passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court during the hearing of a petition filed by Masood himself challenging the Higher Education Department's decision to cancel the recognition of the college.

The First Information Report was registered at Koh-e-Fiza police station under Indian Penal Code sections including 420 (cheating) and 471 (using a forged document), said Assistant Police Commissioner Anil Bajpai.

A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Pradeep Mittal at Jabalpur had on Monday ordered the Bhopal police commissioner to register an FIR against Masood within three days.

Further, the Director General of Police should form a special investigation team to investigate the matter, the court said.

The government cancelled the recognition of Indira Priyadarshini College Bhopal run by Aman Education Society -- of which Masood is secretary -- on June 9. He challenged it in the high court.

The HC sought the documents related to the land on which the college stands, presented while seeking recognition. Upon examination, the judges noted that the first sale deed presented on August 2, 1999, had been forged, and an opportunity was given to submit another sale deed.

But the second sale deed too was not recorded in the revenue records. Yet, the college was being run on the basis of the same sale deed for two decades, the court said.

"This is not possible without the (complicity of) concerned officials and political patronage," the bench said.

Taking the matter seriously, the division bench ordered an FIR against the Congress MLA.

The SIT will conduct its probe within three months, the high court said.

While the recognition of the college was cancelled, it was allowed to continue to function for the time being in the interest of students.