Police officers here said the disclosure in The Hindu on Sunday that a student named Bitti Mohanty was a B.Tech computer science student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University (KIITU) in Bhubaneswar from 2001 to 2005 was a clear indication that the youth impersonating as Raghav Rajan was Bitti. The documents he produced under the fake name included a copy of the B.Tech certificate from KIITU.
KIITU sources have also asserted that the institution had not issued a B.Tech certificate to any student in the name of Raghav Rajan.
The focus of the multi-State investigation process is now clearly on how Bitti had managed to create and sustain a fake identity for himself while on the run. Would forging a whole set of documents — from birth certificate, identity and residence proofs, to academic records — been possible without the help of people in high places, ask observers.
The ongoing probe will seek to unmask those who may have helped him generate the fake identity. It will also seek to probe the systemic failures that allowed him to pass through the verification process — he was able to access an MBA course in a college and secure placement on the basis of a set of forged documents in a public sector bank in the officer cadre.
Steps are also under way to collect evidence from Rajasthan, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Bank’s concerns
The State Bank of Travancore has initiated the process of suspending from service the youth it recruited as trainee. Bank officials said that as per rules, any employee who is held in police custody for 48 hours would be placed under suspension pending inquiry.
SBT sources said that the way Bitti had got around the verification process exposed lacunae in the system. Normally, the bank on finalising recruitment would send the names of candidates to the Collector of the district concerned and the Collector would send the details to the Superintendent of Police concerned.
It remained to be seen if the bank had taken follow-up action to do the verification as it was in a hurry to send the new recruits to various branches in view of shortage of staff. How Bitti managed to get appointed as a probationary officer in Kannur district is also a puzzle. The bank does not let trainee recruits choose their place of appointment.
The probe into the case of forgery, impersonation and cheating registered against him by the Pazhayangadi police on a complaint by the SBT is under Additional Director General of Police N. Sankar Reddy and Superintendent of Police Rahul R. Nair.
Taliparamba Deputy Superintendent of Police S.K. Sudarshan and Payyannur Circle Inspector C.A. Abdul Raheem are in the team.
