Pune, Dec 23 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against Om Prakash Shukla, a former Principal of the National Defence Academy (NDA), in connection with a case of allegedly exaggerating academic records for appointment as teaching staff in the institute, officials said.

The charge sheet was filed by the CBI at a competent court in Pune, an official said.

The official said that the CBI registered a case in May 2018 against Shukla, who was then Principal of NDA, Khadakvasla, and others on the allegations of fraudulent appointments to various posts of civilian faculty at the NDA on the basis of false and exaggerated claims in respect of teaching/research experience and exaggerated API scores.

The CBI had registered a case under sections of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine of the Indian Penal Code and criminal misconduct by public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.

The agency sleuths carried out searches in June 2018 at the premises of accused which led to recovery of incriminating documents.

The CBI said that it was also alleged that during the period 2007-08, Shukla fraudulently, secured appointment as Professor in Economics at NDA and subsequently, in 2011 as Principal, NDA, on the basis of false claims made in his applications to UPSC regarding teaching/research experience, and thereby cheated the Defence Ministry.

In July 2017, the CBI had initiated a preliminary enquiry into the allegations of irregularities in the recruitment of teaching staff at the defence training institute. Shukla and the others have been booked for exaggerating the credentials of a few people in order to get them jobs at the institute which trains budding military officers.