Devinder got govt job on fake identity

Impostor presented himself to department as son of dead Nepalese employee.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the graft case against former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Raj Khurana and his alleged conduit Devinder Singh has found that Singh landed a Punjab government job fraudulently,posing as the son of a clerk who had died in service.

Devinder Singh,32,who is an employee of the office the Registrar,Firms and Societies,in the department of Industries,is currently on long leave. He was employed following the death of Tarun Bahadur Thapa,a clerk working in the department. Devinder Singh allegedly forged certificates to show himself as the son of Thapa and procured the job on compassionate grounds.

CBI investigation further reveals that Thapa was of Nepalese origin while Devinder Singhs full name is Devinder Singh Gill and he is the son of one Mehar Singh Gill. His father had died many years ago,said CBI sources. In the office records,Devinder is named Devinder Thapa, said Tarsem Lal Khosla the current Registrar,Firms and Societies,Punjab.

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Devinder Singh was initially employed in the industries development wing of the department 10-12 years ago following which he managed to get a posting in the office of the registrar,firms and societies. Over the years his lifestyle completely changed and,according to sources in the department,he was considered close not only to Raj Khurana but also to a Punjab Akali minister and a former Congress minister. His closeness to the Congress minister was through Bhag Singh,Cabinet Minister Swarna Rams PA,who was arrested by the CBI today.

Devinder stopped going to office in October 2008 after applying for a two-month leave,which was rejected. He has been on furlough since then without salary. He started working full time as a property dealer and floated an outfit Sky Height Land Developers said sources.

The CBI has also found out that Devinder Singh was running two BEd colleges in Haryana,in Pehowa and Narwana,and other than a colony he was carving out for Punjab Police personnel in Mullanpur,he was working on a similar project on the Chandigarh-Kharar road.

He had told his office that he lived in a rented accommodation in Sector 40 in Chandigarh. CBI sources add that Devinder owns a palatial house in Sector 70 in Mohali and during the CBI search of his house documents pertaining to land deals worth crores have been recovered. Sources in the CBI add that Devinder Singh also had a pistol licence. Devinder was married but had broken up with his wife,said sources.

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Sources in Punjab government point out that Devinder Singh had recently got into the liquor trade and had along with a partner succeeded in tendering of liquor vends in Chandigarh recently.

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