New Delhi: One more pilot has come under
the scanner of Delhi Police for allegedly procuring licence
using fake mark-sheets even as investigators stepped up
efforts to nab another pilot who is still on the run.
With this, seven cases of pilots obtaining licences
using forged mark-sheets have come to light and police have
arrested four of them, two in Delhi and two in Jaipur,
while a woman pilot has "joined investigations".
A senior police official said aviation regulator
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reported one
more case to Delhi Police's Crime Branch. "We have received
one more complaint. We are investigating the matter," he said.
However, the official did not provide the identity of
the pilot saying it would hamper the investigations.
Asked about the absconding pilot, he said they have
stepped up efforts to nab Swaran Singh Talwar of MDLR who is
on the run. Talwar's anticipatory bail application has been
rejected.
Meenakshi Sehgal of Indigo, against whom also there is
a complaint, has joined investigations but investigators
alleged that she "was not cooperating" with them. Sehgal could
not be arrested till March 24 as per a court order.
The Delhi Police had arrested Parwinder Kaur Gulati of
Indigo and JK Verma of Air India while their Jaipur
counterparts have apprehended Anoop Choudhury and Amit Moondra
of Spice Jet for the similar offence.
Crime Branch sleuths are also in touch with their Jaipur
counterparts to ascertain whether the accused pilots were in
touch. "We believe that there was a channel of people who
arranged the fake mark-sheets," the official said.
Investigators also believe that pilots might have paid
Rs 10-12 lakh to touts. The official said they were trying to
identify the touts from whom the pilots allegedly procured the
mark-sheets.
One has to clear three subjects, Aviation Meteorology,
Radio Aids & Instruments and Air Navigation, to get Airline
Transport Pilot Licence, mandatory for becoming a Commander of
a plane.
The seven accused have failed in at least one subject
despite repeated attempts and have allegedly produced forged
mark-sheets to DGCA for the licence.
In the wake of the fake pilot scare, the DGCA is
planning to investigate documents of over 10,000 commercial
pilot license (CPL) holders and conduct third-party audit of
all flying schools in the country.
While all the 4,000-odd holders of Airline Transport
Pilot Licenses (ATPLs) are currently being probed, DGCA chief
E K Bharat Bhushan has said that the regulator is "considering
looking into all the CPLs.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 17:34