Court convicts Police Sub-Inspector for forging date of birth

Srinagar, Nov 7: The Court of City Judge Srinagar has convicted a Sub-Inspector of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000 for forging his date of birth to secure unlawful service benefits, including extension and promotions.
According to official sources, the Crime Branch Kashmir had registered a case in 2023 against Sub-Inspector Jagdesh Singh, son of Kartar Singh, resident of Areena Budgam, for tampering with his date of birth in official records. During the investigation, the officer’s matriculation certificate, session 1974 bearing Roll No. 6759, was sent to the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) for verification.
BOSE authorities confirmed the certificate to be fake and fabricated and authenticated his actual date of birth as November 10, 1957. However, the accused had fraudulently altered it to November 10, 1959 in his service documents, including the Character Roll and matriculation record, to unlawfully obtain a two-year service extension and related benefits.
During the trial, the Crime Branch produced around sixteen witnesses in support of the prosecution. After an eleven-year-long trial, City Judge Srinagar Abdul Bari Said, in a detailed 68-page judgment, found the accused guilty under Sections 420, 511, and 468 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
The court held that the officer had intentionally deceived the authorities for personal gain by manipulating his official records and, accordingly, sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 420 read with 511 RPC. [KNT]