Guards Posted on Fake Licenses in 14 Linked Offices:Security Agency Claimed License Renewal with Forged Signature of Deceased IPS Officer, Took Payments Worth ₹8 Crore in 5 Years

Bhopal Using a license bearing the signature of an IPS officer who had died two years earlier, a private security agency secured a tender for 14 offices associated with the Madhya Pradesh Culture Department. Not only this, but on the basis of the fake license, the agency received payments of more than ₹8 crore over five years.
The operator of Classic Security Service and Consultant, R.K. Pandey, was issued Security (PASARA) License No. 438 by the Home Department on May 12, 2012. Its validity was until May 11, 2017. On this basis, the agency deployed guards in 14 government offices including the Directorate of Culture, MP Culture Council, Ravindra Bhavan, Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, MP School of Drama, and others. Everything remained valid from 2012 to 2017. When fresh tenders were floated in 2017, the operator allegedly renewed the PASARA license fraudulently and continued the work again, providing services until 2022. Clear Response from Home Department – No License Issued The Culture Department first sought verification of the license in January 2022 from the Office of the Inspector General (Law Order and Security Controlling), and then in April 2022 from the Home Department. In April 2022, the Home Department clearly responded that a license had been issued in the name of Classic Security Service only from May 2012 to May 2017. No license was issued thereafter. IPS Officer Died in 2015, His Signature Appeared in 2017 Bhaskar examined both licenses—2012–17 and 2017–22. The only difference between the two was the date of issue and expiry. Both bore the signature of IPS officer S.K. Pandey, Inspector General of Police (Law/Order and Security), Controlling Authority, even though he had died in 2015. After the license was found to be fake, the agency’s guards were removed from all offices in 2022, but pending bills were not stopped. GST Fraud Also Detected: No Registration Number, Yet 18% Tax Added to Bills The investigation also revealed that the agency received GST registration on August 1, 2017, but had already started adding 18% GST to bills from July 2017 and collected payments accordingly. Even after obtaining the GST number, the GST amount collected was not deposited into the government account. Between September 2017 and June 2022, the agency collected approximately ₹90.60 lakh in the name of GST, but this amount was not deposited. On this basis, the agency’s GST number was cancelled in November 2022. It is also noteworthy that although the agency provided services to 14 offices, only 7 employees are registered on the ESI portal. Meanwhile, nine criminal cases are registered against the agency operator R.K. Pandey in three police stations in Bhopal. What is a PASARA License? It is a license issued under the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act, 2005 (PASARA), which is mandatory for private security agencies to operate legally. “This Is a Conspiracy to Frame Me…” “We have not provided security services using any fake documents. The payments received between 2017 and 2022 were for other types of manpower, not security guards. This is a conspiracy to frame me.”— R.K. Pandey, Operator, Classic Security Agency Investigation Is Ongoing, Nothing Can Be Said Yet “Whether the documents were forged or genuine is a matter of investigation. The inquiry is underway, and action will be decided based on its outcome.”— N.P. Namdev, Director, Culture Department, MP