PANAJI
A ‘notorious’ cop, facing criminal charges for assaulting his superior and still managing to get his suspension order revoked in less than a month, has taken his notoriety to the next level. The head constable is suspected to have submitted at least seven fake medical certificates to his department to avail leaves, all within a span of around two months.
Not him alone, the elite Goa Police are grappling with this new trend of receiving sick leave applications based on fake certificates from government-owned hospitals – an unfortunate instance that could also drag genuine cases under the scanner.
The Goan has reliably learnt that the head constable, booked for assaulting an assistant sub-inspector in March 2022 and subsequently suspended, was reinstated in the following month. The department posted him in Goa Reserve Police, Altinho on April 5, 2022, a side posting that gave him ample opportunity to skip work time and again.
Sources said that the head constable has been irregular to work since then while his seniors are reluctant to pull him up despite knowing his reputation in the department.
However, his medical certificates from Azilo Hospital raised suspicion, preliminary inquiry of which suspected its genuineness. Signatures of doctors, the hospital seal, and the diagnosis description of the policeman are now being inquired into. “He had submitted two genuine medical certificates in the past but in the recent time, these documents seem to be forged,” the source said.
As per the service rule, a government employee should produce a medical certificate duly signed by a civil surgeon to avail sick leave.
While the tough task is to nail partners in crime, the trend is now catching up in Goa Police. Sources said the department is in receipt of several complaints having the same modus operandi.
“A verbal inquiry revealed that the concerned doctor has not issued any medical certificate to the head constable prompting the officials to report the matter to his superiors for a thorough inquiry and appropriate action. We have come across quite a few cases wherein the genuineness of medical certificates is questionable,” a senior officer told The Goan.
