Lucknow, Dec 9 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has confirmed that a senior officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in Uttar Pradesh made a false declaration of age.
The officer, Lalit Verma, is currently posted as secretary of the state government’s department of sports and youth welfare. He had topped the civil services examination in 1984.

The disclosure was made in a reportthe CBI submitted to the state government. It wasd asked to inquire into the allegation that Verma had concealed his correct age while applying to appear in the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

The probe was ordered on a complaint made to the central government three years ago and the CBI submitted its “highly confidential” report to the state government Tuesday.

According to a highly placed source, “the CBI report, running into about 200 pages, has come to the conclusion that Verma actually forged false papers to show his age reduced by three years.”

The CBI report has established that while the officer was actually born March 1, 1959, he showed his date of birth as Feb 13, 1962.

Besides recommending departmental proceedings against Verma, the country’s premier investigation agency has sought the state government’s permission to get a criminal case registered against him.

Verma could not be contacted for comment.

Verma has faced serious vigilance inquiries as well as an income tax raid in the past when he was found to be possessing assets far beyond his known sources of income.

He has occupied key positions under various regimes over his 25 years long stint in the elite service.

Top officials of the state were tight-lipped on the issue even as they confirmed that the CBI has submitted its report.