Six more pilots may be phoney

Rajasthan Police is investigating if they possess forged licences; Civil Aviation Ministry turns up the heat on officials to expose charlatans

The list of fraud pilots is going to get longer in the coming days as the anti-corruption wing of the Rajasthan Police, which first exposed the fake pilot licence racket, is expected to announce the name of six more fake pilots.


Exposed: Delhi and Rajasthan police have arrested 18 people in the
fake pilot scam so far. File PIC

"We have got strong inputs against six more pilots who have shown certification of their flying hours from Rajasthan Flying School while obtaining the necessary flying licence from DGCA. We suspect the credentials of these six pilots, and are conducting an enquiry into it. So far we have not arrested any of them but after authenticating doubts, we may arrest them," said Umesh Mishra, IG, Anti-Corruption Bureau of Rajasthan Police.

MiD DAY had earlier reported about the deepening scam in a series of articles ('Logbook blew lid off pilot licence scam', March 25, 'Where are the fake pilots', March 29, 'Another fake pilot arrested', Aprill 5, 'Can you fly? Prove it on camera', April 14).u00a0u00a0

Mishra did not let the names or background of any of the pilots out. "The investigation is underway so we cannot reveal the pilots' names or the airlines which they are attached to presently," he said. Sources inside the Civil Aviation Ministry revealed that there is mounting pressure on them to identify, expose and punish the culprits involved in the sham scam. "The minister himself is very keen to know the developments in the case.

He wants us to ensure that air safety is not compromised at any cost and all fake pilots are exposed. We are cooperating with the investigative agencies and hope everything will be clear soon," said a senior official from the ministry Sources also reveal that the controversial director of air safety, DGCA, R S Passi, was ousted for sending out a clear message that no one possessing fake permits will be spared.

Passi allegedly helped her daughter Garima procure a fake license. She was later sacked by the low cost airline Spicejet after charges of forgery against her were proved.u00a0u00a0Delhi Police have so far arrested 13 people in the scam while two pilots and three instructors have been arrested by the Rajasthan Police.

Meanwhile, three pilots, Swaran Singh Talwar, Syed Habib Ali and Bhupinder Singh, and instructor D Asatkar are still on the run and all airports and ports have been alerted to prevent them from fleeing the country.