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An FIR has been registered against Congress MLA Arif Masood for allegedly using forged documents to secure government recognition for a city-based college nearly two decades ago, police said.

 

The action followed a directive from the Madhya Pradesh High Court during the hearing of a petition filed by Masood himself, challenging the Higher Education Department’s decision to cancel recognition of the college.

 

The First Information Report was lodged at Koh-e-Fiza police station under Indian Penal Code sections including 420 (cheating) and 471 (using a forged document), Assistant Police Commissioner Anil Bajpai said.

 

A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Pradeep Mittal in Jabalpur on Monday ordered the Bhopal police commissioner to register an FIR against Masood within three days. The court further directed the Director General of Police to form a special investigation team to probe the matter.

 

The state government had cancelled recognition of Indira Priyadarshini College Bhopal, run by Aman Education Society — of which Masood is secretary — on June 9. Masood then moved the high court to challenge the cancellation.

 

The bench examined documents related to the land on which the college stands, which had been submitted while seeking recognition. Judges noted that the first sale deed, presented on August 2, 1999, had been forged. An opportunity was later given to submit another sale deed.

 

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However, the second sale deed too was not recorded in the revenue records. Despite this, the college had been operating for two decades on the basis of the same deed, the court observed.

 

“This is not possible without the (complicity of) concerned officials and political patronage,” the bench remarked.

 

Taking the matter seriously, the court ordered that an FIR be registered against the Congress MLA. It further directed that the SIT complete its probe within three months.

 

While recognition of the college has been cancelled, the institution has been allowed to continue functioning temporarily in the interest of students, the high court said.