Army officer booked for possessing forged documents and unlicensed gun

SHIMLA: Dharampur police station in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh has registered an FIR against a Lieutenant Colonel in the army, previously posted at Dagshai Cantonment, for allegedly possessing forged documents and a 12-bore gun without a valid licence.The FIR was lodged on July 6, based on a complaint submitted by a junior commissioned officer of Dagshai Cantonment. Charges include cheating, forgery, and illegal possession of the gun under section 25 of the Arms Act.According to the complaint, on August 23, 2023, army authorities at Dagshai Cantonment recovered a 12-bore gun and several documents from the possession of the Lieutenant Colonel. The documents included a driving licence, Aadhar card, and PAN card bearing the officer’s photograph.

A court of inquiry initiated by the army authorities revealed that the officer possessed duplicate identity cards, Aadhar cards, and PAN cards.

It emerged that the officer prepared a set of these illegal documents in the name of one Mustafa, but they featured his own photograph.When questioned, the Lieutenant Colonel in his reply told the inquiry officers that while earlier posted in Jammu and Kashmir, he made these documents for intelligence gathering purposes.

However, he could not provide evidence of permission from a senior officer for such actions. Additionally, the officer failed to present a licence for the 12-bore gun found in his possession.Following the initiation of the court of inquiry at Dagshai Cantonment, the officer was attached to an army unit in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. After the FIR was registered, Dharampur police have begun the process to associate the accused army officer with the investigation, police officials said.