Yogi Govt puts brakes on fake degree-marksheet and recruitment scams in UP

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently held a review meeting of all units of the UP Police, in which he praised the performance of the state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) in curbing and disposing fake degree-marksheets and recruitment scams in government departments, in addition to preventing theft of revenue and scholarship irregularities in the state.

In the last five years, SIT has not only disposed of significant economic crimes and cases in a timely manner, but has also offered advice to the institutions dealing with such serious cases to plug loopholes in the existing systems in order to prevent such cases from occurring in future.

In view of the Yogi Government’s zero tolerance policy against crime and corruption, the SIT has resolved long pending cases in the last five years. The SIT office has also been completely digitised to expedite resolution of cases. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not only praised the SIT, but has also advised other investigating agencies to take a cue from the SIT to improve their fucntioing.

Twice as many cases settled in five years as compared to last ten years

SIT DG Renuka Mishra said, “In the last five years, cases were investigated and disposed at double the speed by the department as compared to the past. Cases that were pending for years were disposed of expeditiously. While 47 cases were disposed of in 32 months between 2007 and 2016, 88 investigations were done in 25 months between 2017-2023, almost double”.

Similarly, between the years 2007 to 2016, the deliberations of 40 cases were completed in 31 months, whereas from 2017 to 2023, the deliberations were done in 82 cases in 28 months, including pending cases, preventing revenue loss to the tune of Rs 1,203 crore. Action was taken against 351 guilty employees and officers, while 1002 were punished.

The department set its own target of 100 days for the speedy disposal of cases, including half of the total pending cases of 82, of which 41 cases were disposed of. In the last 6 months, a target was set to clear cases pending since before the year 2021, leading to settlement of 42 old and 12 new cases.

SIT will work on the lines of CBI

DG Renuka Mishra said that several changes like complete computerization and digitization of the department have taken place to accelerate the investigation and deliberation of all the cases. Along with this, tablets were given to the officers and the judges.

Besides, E-office and case management system were implemented in the department, which enabled reading of letters of investigation and deliberations with one click and the concerned officer was informed about its shortcomings and updated immediately. On the other hand, the availability of data on e-office, including the details of investigation, its progress and for how long it has been pending, etc., has accelerated the disposal of cases.

The DG informed that according to the standards of the CBI, the department has set a target of finishing the inquiry in 3 months and the deliberations in 1 year, adding that it would be followed in letter and spirit.