Birthdate glitch haunts BSF, CRPF chiefs

An embarrassing oversight has caused a major headache for the current UPA-II government at the Centre.

Two brothers, Vikam and Raman Shrivastav, both of whom head central police organisations, have been shown up by an embarrassing lie that remained buried  for the past 37 years. One of them stands to lose his job and pension for furnishing the wrong date of birth.

Home ministry officials were, in for a shock on checking their dates of  birth. Official records show Raman Srivastava was born on October 24, 1951, while the date of birth of Vikram Srivastava is just five months away, March 18, 1952. Home ministry officials are embarrassed that nobody bothered to double-check before releasing the biodata of Vikram Srivastava, a UP cadre IPS officer, on his appointment as the director general of the Central Reserve Police Force. He was earlier DG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

This unsavoury fact was uncovered, when another officer challenged Vikram's new posting, saying it is not proper for brothers to head two central forces as it smacked of favouritism. Vikram's elder brother Raman Shrivastav, a Kerala cadre IPS officer, was made the DG of the Border Security Force on August 1, 2009. Raman was earlier posted as special secretary (security) in the home ministry.

The home ministry is apprehensive that a PIL or RTI query on the issue could embarrass the Centre.The ministry officials checked if the wrong dates had been entered in the records, but those acquainted with the government's service rules say even that will not let off the brother whose date of birth is wrong, as he should have got it corrected instead of letting it remain unchanged for all these years.

The officials have quietly sought the advice of Home Minister P Chidambaram as the service rules provide for extreme punishment upto dismissal from service and denial of pension benefits for taking up government employment on the basis of false information.

Chidambaram has to decide whether an explanation should be sought from both brothers. The home minister has also asked to establish their dates of birth and will also decide the quantum of punishment for the guilty party. Until he takes a decision, officials have tried to play down this controversy as they point out that it will demoralise the two police organisations headed by the brothers.