Fake licences: Accused pilots may have fled abroad

Absconding pilots and a flying instructor allegedly fudged marksheets in connivance with DGCA officials.

The police suspect that four pilots and a flying instructor,who allegedly fudged marksheets to get commercial pilots licences (CPL) in connivance with certain Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials,may have fled the country. The police said they were checking emigration records of all international airports of the country to see if the pilots had left the country or not.

The four absconding pilots have been identified as Swaran Singh Talwar of MDLR,Syed Habib Ali,Bhupinder Singh and Gaurav Jain. The flying instructor is D Asatkar.

We are scouring the emigration records to see if they are present in the country, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ashok Chand.

The Officials at the Crime Branch of Delhi Police,which is investigating the case,said they were conducting raids across the country. The police said Asatkar was the main conduit between the pilots and the DGCA officials. Asatkar used to handle operations in the western part of the country. He used to send the pilots who failed to clear the examination to his contacts in Delhi who forged the marksheet and they got the licences, said a police officer. The Delhi Police registered two cases on the DGCAs complaint. While one pertains to the fudging of marksheets,the other is related to Airlines Transport Pilot Licences.

The police said the racket had been running in these two areas for at least for past three years.