NEW DELHI: IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai “forged the signatures” of Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar to “improve” his Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APAR), Raj Niwas officials said on Thursday, adding that the Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has granted sanction for the prosecution of Rai and recommended the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The alleged felony occurred during his tenure in Union Territories between 2017 and 2021. Rai, a 2007 batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre, is posted in Mizoram and currently under suspension. A report by the Department of Vigilance (DoV) alleged that Rai, in his APARs for the periods from April 1, 2017, to October 8, 2017, and from October 9, 2017, to March 31, 2018, had forged the signatures of his Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, which he repeated in the next APAR for the period from April 1, 2019, to July 30, 2019, when he was posted as District Magistrate (DM) in Andaman and Nicobar administration.
The alleged forgery was repeated when Rai was transferred to Delhi as Director (Education).
A criminal case of forgery under sections 465/471 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Rai. According to vigilance, an FSL report by the police confirmed that the specimen signatures and handwritings of Chief and Principal secretaries do not match on Rai’s APARs.
The case
According to Rai Niwas officials, Rai, a 2007 batch IAS officer, Rai allegedly forged the signatures of his reviewing authority—the chief secretaries of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Delhi. He was suspended last year in a graft case of “taking” a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board staff member while serving as its Vice-Chairman. He has also been accused of demolishing a heritage structure to construct his official residence in Jal Vihar.