NCERT book piracy: Inspector suspended for 'embezzlement' of Rs 2 cr

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) The inspector in-charge of Shahdara district's Special Staff has been suspended for alleged embezzlement of Rs 2 crore in connection to a massive piracy racket of NCERT books, an official said on Thursday.

Police said two sub-inspectors of Anti-Snatching Cell and Anti-Auto-Theft Squad are also facing departmental inquiry for certain "lapses".

The suspension of the inspector in-charge on Wednesday comes nearly a month after Delhi Police seized lakhs of counterfeit NCERT textbooks being circulated as original, the official said.

Pirated textbooks worth over RS Rs 2.4 crore have been seized so far in the case.

Police said the suspended inspector is accused of financial irregularities during the investigation and seizure process.

On May 16, three men, including a father-son duo -- Prashant Gupta (48) and Nishant Gupta (26) -- and Arvind Kumar were arrested after seizing around 1.7 lakh pirated NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks from a warehouse in Hiranki near Alipur and a shop on Mandoli Road in Shahdara.

"Acting on a tip-off received on May 16, a raid was conducted at Anupam Sales, a shop allegedly run by Prashant and Nishant. The police, accompanied by NCERT officials, found 27 pirated Class 12 Social Science textbooks bearing forged NCERT emblems and fake signatures, making them appear authentic," a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, they said spoke of a storage facility in Hiranki, where further raids led to the recovery of pirated books valued at over Rs 2.4 crore. NCERT officials confirmed the entire consignment was counterfeit and violated copyright laws.

An FIR was then registered under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating) and relevant sections of the Copyright Act at MS Park police station. PTI SSJ SKY SKY SKY