J&K govt retires senior officer for date of birth forgery

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday ordered immediate superannuation of a senior officer on charges of date of birth forgery.

Officials in the general administration department said orders have been issued for immediate superannuation of Syed Shabir Shafi, an officer of the rank of director, presently posted in industries and commerce department in the civil secretariat, who had committed forgery in his date of birth certificate.

The government has forwarded the case to the crime branch for taking necessary action under law.

The government also ordered that the salary and other illegitimate monetary benefits received by the officer beyond March 31, 2021 i.e. the period of his unauthorised overstay in service, shall be recovered from the retired officer.

Syed Shabir Shafi was appointed as assistant director (Statistics) by the Planning and Development Department in 1994 and then elevated to the rank of director.

"Following a complaint to the Finance Department that Date of Birth/Matriculation Certificate of Syed Shabir Shafi was doubtful, the matter was taken up with the J&K Board of School Education, which intimated that the Matriculation Certificate of the officer did not coincide with the board records and was not issued by the Board.

"As such the said Matriculation Certificate was not genuine and treated as fake and fabricated.

"Further, the Finance Department also obtained the school record of the officer from Principal, Government Boys Higher secondary School, Zadibal, Srinagar, which mentioned that Date of Birth recorded on Admission Form of Syed Shabir Shafi was mutilated from 01-04-1961 to 01-04-1966 and the cutting was not attested by the concerned headmaster.

J&K Board of School Education also established that the Date of Birth of the officer was 01-04-1961 instead of 01-04-1966," officials said.