Booked for issuing backdated licences, PCS officer told to oversee RTA work

JALANDHAR: A PCS officer , who is facing a case of cheating and other sections registered against him for allegedly issuing driving licences in back-date during his tenure as Faridkot Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in February this year has been asked to take care of Jalandhar RTA work.

Hardeep Singh is posted as assistant commissioner (General) in Jalandhar and is out on bail in the cheating case.

RTA Jalandhar secretary Barjinder Singh is under home isolation, after testing positive for covid-19 and is likely to join back after 10 days.

Officialdom seemed evasive on who gave Hardeep the charge. Jalandhar deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said he had not given additional charge of RTA to Hardeep Singh, as the matter didn’t fall under his purview, but he (Hardeep) was asked to supervise the work as previously he had worked as the RTA and launched the work of the office.

State transport commissioner Amarpal Singh said, “Please talk to the deputy commissioner, as he has given the charge (to Hardeep Singh) at his level only.”

Sangrur DSP (investigation) Mohit Aggarwal who is supervising the case of the back-dated licences said a district and sessions court had granted bail to Hardeep.

“He, however, remains an accused. We will file the chargesheet in the case soon.”

Hardeep and his assistant transport officer Gurnam Singh and several others have been booked under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) at Longowal police station, Sangrur.

Hardeep Singh didn’t respond to repeated calls from HT.

YOUNG LAWMAKER

The BJP has been keen on strengthening the second-line leadership in the hill state. In both Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the saffron party has given preference to young leaders. Kashyap, 49, fits into the party’s plan nicely. Also, after Nahan legislator Rajeev Bindal had to step down from the state party president’s post following a health scam controversy, the BJP had been on the lookout for a leader with a clean image to hold the party’s reins in the hill state. Bindal had resigned from

DEFENCE BACKGROUND

There are nearly two lakh serving and retired defence personnel in Himachal. Kashyap, who served in the Indian Air Force before joining the politics in 2005, will come in handy to strike a chord with defence voters.

Born in Paplahan village of Sirmaur, Kashyap started his political career from the grassroots. He remained a member of block development committee, Pachad, from 2005 to 2010. He joined the BJP in 2006 and became party’s district SC Morcha chief . He was later appointed as state general secretary of BJP SC Morcha in 2009.